President Biden scrapped plans to travel to his home in Wilmington as the situation in Ukraine is rapidly deteriorating and invading Russian troops advance on the capital of Kyiv.
Mr. Biden was scheduled to depart for Wilmington on Friday afternoon, but an updated schedule released by the White House doesn’t show travel plans. There was no explanation for the schedule change.
The president has no public events on his schedule for Friday, but that could change. Mr. Biden reportedly has selected a Supreme Court nominee and the announcement could come as early as Friday afternoon.
Russian forces moved by land and air towards Kyiv on Friday, while Ukrainian forces hunkered down in a desperate bid to save the city.
Last weekend, Mr. Biden had planned to travel to Delaware for the Presidents Day weekend. He scrapped those plans Sunday afternoon and spent the weekend at the White House after meeting with his national security team about Ukraine.
Since taking office last year, Mr. Biden has made 44 trips to Delaware, totaling 143 days. His days in Delaware have been split between his home in Wilmington and his beach house in Rehoboth Beach.
That’s more time away from the White House than any of his three most recent predecessors.
Mr. Biden had been criticized during the Afghanistan crisis last summer for traveling to Wilmington. In September, he was slammed by Republicans for spending Labor Day weekend in Delaware while Americans remained stranded in Afghanistan amid the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Kabul.
The White House defended Mr. Biden’s visits home during the Afghanistan crisis, insisting he was still on the job.
“Presidents of the United States are constantly on the job, regardless of their location; whether they’re on a state visit overseas or just 100 miles from the White House for a short trip to Wilmington,” the White House said in a statement at the time.
“Wherever he is, the president spends every day working to defeat the pandemic, to ensure our economy delivers for the middle class — not just those at the top — and to protect our national security,” the statement said.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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