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Joe and Jill Biden boarded Air Force One in heavy rain Wednesday for their vacation to the Caribbean island of St. Croix to ring in the new year.
But it is unlikely that the president will be able to escape the dark political clouds both at home and around the world as he sits on the sunny beach of the US Virgin Islands.
The next battle to fund the government will await him in Washington: the current resolution ends on January 19.
And the 2024 elections will accelerate next month when Republicans begin the primary process to choose their presidential candidate.
There will also be more immediate and pressing political issues, including rising tensions in the Middle East and increased migrant crossings at the southern border.
Joe and Jill Biden boarded Air Force One on Wednesday for their vacation to the Caribbean island of St. Croix, where they will ring in the new year.
It is unlikely that the president will be able to escape the dark political clouds both at home and around the world as he sits on the sunny beach of the US Virgin Islands.
As Biden heads south toward the Caribbean Sea, two of his top officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, will head south to Mexico, where they will seek help to reduce border crossings. .
The politically charged issue is weighing on the Biden administration.
Immigration has become ingrained in Biden’s foreign policy: His push for more funding for Ukraine and Israel was hampered by Republicans’ desire for more funding for the borders.
And it’s a hot political issue for the president seeking a second term. Republicans – and even some Democrats – have criticized him for not doing enough to secure the US-Mexico border.
Meanwhile, fears are growing of a widening war in the Middle East that could draw in American troops. US troops in Syria and Iraq have already faced attacks from Iranian proxy groups.
And Biden continues to try to persuade Republicans to support more funding for Ukraine as it fights Russian troops.
Amid all this, the president will spend time with family in one of the Biden family’s favorite winter destinations.
The Bidens have a long family tradition of spending time on St. Croix, visiting almost every year since 2008.
The White House has not said where the family will stay this year.
Last year, the president and first lady stayed in a three-bedroom luxury villa owned by billionaire Democratic donors Bill and Connie Neville, who made their fortune in the technology industry.
Joe and Jill Biden climb the smallest steps of Air Force One in the rain as they begin their journey to the Caribbean.
The Bidens rang in 2023 on their private beach. St. Croix is the easternmost point of the United States and therefore welcomes the first dawn of the new year in the United States.
In the past, the Bidens have joined locals to greet the first sunrise of the new year at Point Udall, the easternmost point under the American flag. But, as president, he needs more security, hence the private tradition of getting up early.
The first family spent Christmas at Camp David, but returned to the White House on Tuesday for a brief 24-hour stay.
Last year, the Bidens’ daughter Ashley, her husband Howard, and their grandchildren, Natalie and Little Hunter, joined the president and first lady on St. Croix.
The Bidens didn’t pay rent last year, but stayed as “guests” at the house in Solitude Bay, a private community with its own beach. Homes there can sell for around $3 million, according to real estate websites.
Last year, President Joe Biden and his family stayed at the home of a billionaire Democratic donor in St. Croix, the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The villa is located on Solitude Bay, which has access to a private beach and is owned by Democratic donors Bill and Connie Neville.
The Nevilles, who made their fortune in the technology industry, welcomed the Biden family in 2022
Homes in the idyllic coastal community of Solitude Bay can sell for around $3 million
A luxury family vacation rental on St. Croix can cost up to $5,000 per night, according to vacation websites.
Both the president and first lady are known to enjoy time at the beach. The Bidens own a beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware.
The Bidens will enjoy a wonderful escape from the cold: the average temperature on St. Croix is 80 degrees and sunny skies are forecast for next week.
Biden’s brother, James, owns property on Water Island, and in the past, the Bidens have often spent a week there in January, when cold weather sets in on the East Coast.
During his tenure as vice president, Biden vacationed in St Croix in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Last year he was the first president to visit the island since former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Barack Obama visited in 2007 when he was a presidential candidate.
Before Biden, the last sitting president to visit St Croix was Harry Truman in February 1948.