President Biden arrived in St. Croix on Thursday for his final vacation as president before leaving office next month.
The president left the White House the day after Christmas with First Lady Jill Biden. He and his daughter Ashley Biden arrived on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands around 2 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Biden has traveled to St. Croix during the New Year's holidays during his presidency and was criticized last year for making the trip during the crisis at the U.S. southern border. At the time, migrant caravans, which were increasingly crossing the border to reach the United States, attracted attention.
This year, the president signed 50 bills on Christmas Eve and departed on his annual trip just days after signing stopgap measures to avert a government shutdown.
Last week, President-elect Trump was criticized for helping block a bipartisan bill negotiated by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) while absenting himself from talks aimed at keeping the government open.
The White House on Friday dismissed a number of questions about Biden's absence from the meeting.
The trip to St. Croix will not be Trump's last trip as president before he takes office on January 20th. Trump is scheduled to visit Italy next month and meet with Pope Francis, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
