Posted by 
US President Joe Biden's much-anticipate trip to Australia is off the table amid ongoing pressures at home.
Biden was set to join Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as guests of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the Quad leaders summit on May 24 in Sydney.
But the US leader is embroiled in crucial domestic political negotiations, including a bid to raise the national debt ceiling, that has prompted a re-evalution of the trip, even as security preparations for his arrival were underway in Australia.
READ MORE: Children injured after school bus rolls in crash west of Melbourne
Biden still plans to leave for Japan this week for a Group of Seven summit.
He will return to the US on Sunday, according a statement from the White House.
"The President spoke to Prime Minister Albanese earlier today to inform him that he will be postponing his trip to Australia," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
"He also invited the Prime Minister for an official state visit at a time to be agreed by the teams."
Jean-Pierre said the Quad remained a "priority" for the Biden administration.
"This is vital to our ability to advance our foreign policy goals and better promote global stability and prosperity," it read.
"We look forward to finding other ways to engage with Australia, the Quad, Papua New Guinea and the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum in the coming year."
Jean-Pierre said the reason for Biden's decision was to ensure Congress worked to raise the debt ceiling by deadline.
US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has warned that if the debt ceiling – essentially, the upper limit on how much money the government can borrow – is not increased by June 1, the country could default on its debts and risk sliding into recession.
READ MORE: Man hailed hero for thwarting armed robbery using pot plant
Biden was also due to travel to Papua New Guinea for a potential defence announcement, and was scheduled to address the federal parliament in Canberra.
Albanese confirmed that he had spoken with Biden.
"The President and I agreed that we would work to reschedule his visit to Australia at the earliest opportunity," he said.
"I also look forward to visiting Washington later this year for a state visit to the United States."
Albanese said he was speaking with fellow Quad leaders Modi and Kishida about their travel arrangements.
"In the meantime, I look forward to meeting with both Prime Ministers and the President at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on May 20-21," he said.
Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.
