President Biden has postponed his visit to the Vatican to address the devastating wildfires in California. He will remain in Washington to oversee the federal response to the crisis.
President Joe Biden has canceled a planned trip to Rome to meet with Pope Francis to focus on the federal response to the rapidly moving wildfires tearing through the Los Angeles area. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden made the decision after returning to Washington from a trip to Los Angeles to meet with law enforcement, fire and emergency personnel battling the fires.
'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,' Jean-Pierre said. Biden's trip to Italy was scheduled for January 9 to 12, and he was also expected to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He had accepted an invitation from the Pope to visit the Vatican last month. At least five people have been killed in the wildfires, triggering mandatory evacuations for more than 100,000 people. Biden said during a briefing at a Santa Monica firehouse that his administration was ready to do 'anything and everything as long as it takes to contain these fires and help reconstruct, make sure that we get back to normal.” “It’s going to be a hell of a long way. It’s going to take time. Federal government is here to stay, as long as it needs,” Biden added. The White House said earlier in the day that Biden had approved a major disaster declaration for the fires, enabling people impacted by the fires in Los Angeles County to access funding for temporary housing, home repairs and loans for property that was not insured. Federal funding is also extended to state, tribal, local government and some private nonprofit organizations
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