Vice President Biden Cancels Several Appearances, Stays With Son In Texas
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden has canceled three appearances Thursday in Rhode Island and Maine, opting to stay in Houston while his son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, is evaluated at a top cancer center.
The vice president was scheduled to headline a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at the home of Alison and Bill Vareika. Alison Vareika said Wednesday the event has been called off.
Biden's other appearances Thursday — a fundraiser in Maine for New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan and an appearance at Rhode Island's Salve Regina University — have also been called off, although Salve Regina University said its event would take place in Biden's absence.
"Vice President Biden is absolutely right to be with his son and family during this difficult time," Hassan said.
Biden is still scheduled to join President Barack Obama in Scranton, Pa., on Friday during the second day of Obama's bus tour, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.
Beau Biden felt weak and disoriented last week and was admitted to a Chicago-area hospital. He returned home but traveled a few days later to Houston for testing at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The vice president accompanied his son to Houston on Monday and has remained with him in Texas.
The younger Biden, 44, also suffered a mild stroke in 2010.
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