Vice President Kamala Harris abruptly canceled a major domestic trip on Friday, sparking concerns about her ability to travel very far amid growing scrutiny over President Joe Biden’s declining health. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported what conservatives have long alleged: that President Biden, at 81 years old, is increasingly unfit to lead the nation without heavy reliance on aides who reportedly observe his mental deterioration worsening daily.
Harris had been scheduled to travel from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles to attend a family Christmas gathering. However, guidance from her office stated she would instead “receive briefings and conduct internal meetings with staff,” according to the Daily Mail. This fueled speculation that Harris chose to stay close to the White House, unwilling to leave Biden in charge on the eve of a potential government shutdown.
Social media users speculated that President Biden’s declining health may be a factor. The Journal report highlighted how the president’s public events have become increasingly shorter and more scripted, with staffers frequently acting as intermediaries when Biden needs to communicate with other high-ranking leaders or make decisions. One observer described the level of “hand-holding” Biden now requires as unprecedented compared to other recent presidents. Biden and his family returned to the White House on Thursday after attending a private ceremony in Delaware to honor the 52nd anniversary of the traffic accident that claimed the lives of his first wife and daughter.
The failure of multiple stopgap spending bills highlights Harris’s need to remain in Washington in case she is required to break a tie in the Senate. On Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) introduced his third version of a bill to avert a government shutdown, but he faces significant resistance from conservative members of his own party and a unified bloc of Democrats unwilling to support the measure without additional spending priorities—a nonstarter for Republicans. Meanwhile, Biden, who has maintained a low profile throughout the debate, would need to be available to sign any agreement into law.
“President Biden supports the bipartisan agreement to keep the government open, help communities recovering from disasters, and lower costs—not this giveaway for billionaires that Republicans are proposing at the 11 hour,” the White House said in a statement Thursday evening.
