Obama cancels trip to California to focus on Syria resolution

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- President Obama's trip to California next week has been canceled because of the Syrian resolution moving through Congress, the White House said Thursday.

"The president's trip to California has been canceled. He will remain in Washington to work on the Syrian resolution before Congress," the White House said in a statement.

Obama was to have participated in a fundraiser Monday at Los Angeles at the home of "Friends" co-creator Marta Kauffman and her husband, composer Market Skloff, The Hollywood Reporter said.

He also was scheduled to speak at an AFL-CIO convention, The Hill reported.

In the Senate, prospects are good for passage of a resolution that would grant Obama limited authority to conduct a military strike in response to evidence that the regime of President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons on his citizens, The Hill said. However, White House does not seem to have enough votes in the House to pass the resolution as of Thursday.

Despite support proffered by House leadership, House members have not embraced Obama's plan. The Washington Post said its scorecard indicated more than 80 House members opposed the use of force in Syria and 93 representatives have voiced skepticism but not outright opposition.