Barack Obama cancels part of Asia trip due to US government shutdown

President Barack Obama is canceling a trip to Asia next week because of the government shutdown.

Obama had already shortened the trip from four countries to two. The White House announced earlier in the week that Obama would be unable to visit Malaysia and the Philippines because the partial shutdown of the federal government was impacting personnel needed to set up the stops.

The White House had held out hope that the president could attend to economic summits in Indonesia and Brunei. But it announced late Wednesday that Obama decided to skip the entire trip to stay in Washington to continue pressing for a budget bill that would reopen the government.

Obama had been due to depart Washington late Saturday night.