Biden's Overseas Trip Amidst Nuclear Tensions and Debt Default Looming

President Joe Biden is set to depart for a week-long visit to Asia, including the G7 summit in Japan, despite the ongoing negotiations on raising the US borrowing limit to avert a historic default. While his team has not made extensive contingency plans for the trip to be canceled, the looming debt default will still shadow Biden’s attempts to cultivate critical relationships and restore American leadership. Biden places a premium on in-person interactions, particularly with high-level leaders, and some of his aides worry that abandoning his travel plans to remain in Washington could look like a concession to Republicans.