Biden cancels trip to Italy, meant as final foreign visit of presidency, as fires rage in California

President Joe Biden on Wednesday cancelled the final overseas trip of his presidency just hours before he was set to depart for Rome and the Vatican, choosing to remain in Washington to monitor the response todevastating fires raging in California.

Biden was scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon, aftereulogizing former President Jimmy Carterat a memorial service in Washington, for the three-day trip to meet with Pope Francis and Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The trip was meant as a coda to the second Catholic U.S. president’s time in the White House and a final opportunity to showcase the strength of American alliances before he leaves office on Jan. 20.

The announcement of the trip’s cancellation comes just hours after Biden departed Los Angeles after meetinghis first great-grandchild, who was born Wednesday at an area hospital. He received a briefing from local fire officials before returning to Washington, as smoke and ash from blazes raging in the area clouded the daytime sky.

“After returning this evening from Los Angeles, where earlier today he had met with police, fire and emergency personnel fighting the historic fires raging in the area and approved a Major Disaster declaration for California, President Biden made the decision to cancel his upcoming trip to Italy to remain focused on directing the full federal response in the days ahead,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The large Palisades fire sparked Tuesday morning as Biden was in Los Angeles, and the high winds that helped fuel its massive spread forced the president to scrub a planned visit to Thermal toannounce two new national monuments.

While flying back to Washington on Wednesday, Biden approved a federal major disaster declaration for Los Angeles County, allowing for federal funding to be made available for temporary housing and home repairs as well as low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses. It also provides additional financial assistance to state and local governments to cover the costs of fighting and cleaning up after the fires.