President Obama Cancels Trip to Malaysia and Philippines, Also Cancels Appearance at Hispanic Caucus Gala

President Obama has made a number of cancellations due to the continued government shutdown. 

The White House announced on Wednesday that President Obama has canceled his trip next week to Malaysia and the Philippines due to the congressional budget impasse and resulting shutdown, The New York Times confirms. Secretary of State John Kerry will lead delegations to both countries in place of the president. However, President Obama will keep his plan to travel to Indonesia to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali, in which Asian leaders will gather to discuss economic concerns. The president will also keep his scheduled visit to Brunei. 

The White House released a statement regarding the cancellations:  "Due to the government shut-down, President Obama's travel to Malaysia and the Philippines has been postponed. Logistically, it was not possible to go ahead with these trips in the face of a government shutdown. Because they are on the back end of the president's upcoming trip, our personnel was not yet in place and we were not able to go forward with planning. Unlike the APEC and East Asia Summits, these trips can also be rescheduled, and President Obama looks forward to visiting Malaysia and the Philippines later in his term."

The cancellation comes at an inopportune time for President Obama, who is trying to focus American policy more toward Asia, and specifically China, due to the country's growing economic power and persistent tensions with the U.S. China's leader Xi Jinping will be attending the APEC summit to try to boost his country's popularity with other Southeast Asian countries. 

The Philippines continues to be an ally of the U.S. against China's influence in the Asia Pacific region. Manila and Washington have recently strengthened their military ties. Obama called the president of the Phillippines, Benigno Aquino, on Tuesday night to inform him of the postponement. 

A White House spokesperson described the call. "The president reaffirmed our strong alliance with the Philippines and respect for President Aquino's leadership, and committed to travel to the Philippines later in his term. He also noted our shared commitment to the security of the Philippines, and the broader security and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region," the spokesman noted.

Obama also phoned Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia to tell him about the cancellation. 

The cancellation marks the third time Obama has postponed trips to Asia due to exigent domestic issues. He postponed a trip in March 2010 to Indonesia, and Australia as well, to fight for the passage of the Affordable Care Act. That same June, he delayed the trip again because of the BP oil spill in the Gulf. 

In addition to the postponement of the Asia trip, the president and first lady Michelle Obama will not attend a Wednesday night gala hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. The cancellation will mark the first time the president has not attended the event. 

The shutdown, which began yesterday, marks the first government shutdown in 17 years. The government came to a grinding halt after Congress failed to reach a new budget agreement due to Republican opposition to President Obama's health care initiative.  

The absence of a new budget has precluded the government from spending money, forcing many government buildings to shut down. The legislative deadlock continued into Tuesday morning, as the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected a Republican-controlled House proposal to begin conference committee negotiations, which included whether to link federal funding to changes in the Affordable Care Act. 

As a result, more than 800,000 federal workers are facing helpless uncertainty as government agencies are forced to shut down for an indefinite period of time. The shutdown precipitated the immediate furlough of about 400,000 civilian employees, according to The New York Times.