Kamala Harris abruptly canceled her Christmas vacation trip to Los Angeles as new revelations about Joe Biden’s decline sent shockwaves through Washington.
The Vice President’s office said Harris would not travel to California on Thursday as planned and would instead remain in the capital.
Guidance from Harris’ aides said she would ‘receive briefings and conduct internal meetings with staff’. It came as the fate of a congressional effort to fund the federal government remains uncertain and a shutdown looms.
The sudden jettisoning of Harris’ holiday prompted widespread speculation on social media that Biden could be in poor health.
Her announcement came hours after a bombshell Wall Street Journal investigation exposed how frail the president has been for the last four years.
The explosive report drew back the curtain on how ‘eager beaver’ aides covered up for Biden right from the very start of his term.
Aides scrapped meetings on the president’s ‘bad days’ and had other officials take up roles usually performed by the president.
They also hired a voice coach in an effort to beef up Biden’s failing voice.
And key politicians told who they were unable to get hold of the president, including ahead of the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
On Thursday, Biden returned with his family to the White House after a trip to Delaware.
He exited Marine One and walked across the South Lawn with his wife Jill, and holding the hand of his grandson Beau Biden. Hunter Biden traveled with the president.
In Delaware on Wednesday the Biden family attended a Mass commemorating the death of the president’s first wife and daughter in a traffic accident 52 years ago.
The Mass was held at St. Joseph on the Brandywine after a church service in Wilmington.
The president and First Lady are scheduled to travel to a children’s hospital on Friday afternoon to visit patients and families.
Harris staying in Washington is likely due to the uncertainty of whether the House of Representatives can pass a stopgap continuing resolution bill to fund the government.
The vice president may be needed to vote in the Senate in case of a tie.
It would also look bad politically if she left Washington for her Christmas vacation while legislators remained in town to hammer out a deal.
The Vice President’s office did not return a DailyMail.com request for comment.
Earlier this week President-elect Donald Trump blew up a bipartisan agreement in Congress for a 1,547-page bill that included significant additional spending.
The Republican ‘Plan B’ effort was a considerably smaller piece of legislation at just 116 pages, but it also failed to pass Thursday night.
A total of 38 Republicans rebelled and opposed it. And all Democrats but two also voted against.
If Congress fails to pass a continuing resolution before midnight Friday the government faces a partial shutdown.
Biden has kept a low profile throughout the negotiations, as members of Congress continue to negotiate the spending deal without hearing directly from the president.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized Republicans for walking away from the initial deal, and urged them to move forward.
In a statement the White House said: ‘President Biden supports the bipartisan agreement to keep the government open, help communities recovering from disasters, and lower costs.
‘Not this giveaway for billionaires that Republicans are proposing at the 11th hour.’