Biden arrives in St. Croix for last vacation as president

President Biden on Thursday arrived in St. Croix for his last vacation as president before leaving office next month.

The president left the White House the day after Christmas with first lady Jill Biden. He arrived in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands around 2 p.m. EST Thursday, along with his daughter Ashley Biden.

Biden has traveled to St. Croix for the New Year’s holiday throughout his time as president and was criticized last year for making the trip amid a crisis at the U.S. southern border. At the time, a migrant caravan gained attention because it was heading to the U.S. and border crossings were increasing.

This year, the president took off for his annual trip after he signed 50 bills on Christmas Eve and days after he signed a stopgap measure to avert a government shutdown.

He was criticized last week for being absent during talks to keep the government open, while President-elect Trump helped kill a bipartisan measure Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) negotiated.

The White House on Friday blew off a host of questions over Biden’s absence from the talks.

The trip to St. Croix isn’t his last as president before Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20. He plans to travel to Italy next month for meetings with Pope Francis, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Italian President Sergio Mattarella.