President Barack Obama gestures while speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington about the government shutdown
Thanks to the government shutdown, President Obama is shortening his trip to Asia, skipping Malaysia and the Philippines.
He called the Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak and Philippine President Baenigno Aquino III to tell them he would travel to their countries later this term, USA Today reports.
Obama is scheduled to leave Saturday night for two Asian economic summits—one in Indonesia and one in Brunei. That plan could still change.
“We continue to evaluate those trips based on how events develop throughout the coure of the week,” Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said.