Biden traces his Irish roots as suspected document leaker faces charges in the U.S.
DUBLIN — Joe Biden hopes the luck of the Irish rubs off on him in the next few days.
With trouble brewing back home, Biden is in the final day of his trip to Ireland, where he's due to visit a Roman Catholic pilgrimage site. In the U.S., attention is focused on the arrest of a suspected document leaker.
The Department on Justice announced the arrest on Thursday of Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman who is charged with leaking classified documents the Ukraine war.
At a banquet shortly after the arrest, Biden said his Grandpa Finnegan had a saying: “If you’re lucky enough to be Irish, you’re lucky enough.”
But as Biden makes a last attempt to connect with his Irish roots, Teixeira is scheduled to appear in court.
The president is likely to see his visit to North Mayo Heritage and Genealogical Centre’s Family History Research Unit overshadowed by the leak case. He returns to the U.S. on Friday evening for a weekend at his beach home.
The latest:
Goodbye Feast: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar held a banquet on Thursday evening for Biden and U.S. lawmakers at Dublin Castle.
The Menu: Starters included Lambay Island crab cake and asparagus, while Biden was treated to duck fat fondant potato, rainbow carrots, pea and mint puree, sherry vinegar lamb jus, roast saddle of lamb and confit lamb shoulder as main courses.
Dessert: No chocolate chip ice cream on the menu, but Biden was served Tonka beans, pear and maple syrup mousse tart, pear cream, matcha tea crumb, ginger caramel and compress pear.
What's about to happen
Biden will tour the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock in County Mayo, Ireland. He will then visit the Mayo Roscommon Hospice before heading to the genealogical centre. He is also scheduled to deliver remarks at Saint Muredach’s Cathedral before returning to the U.S. by way of Dublin.
Top takeaways
Biden's trips abroad have a history of being disrupted by outside forces.
While in Mexico earlier this year, the president was pressed on revelations that stray classified documents were found at his personal residence. On a trip to Indonesia for the Group of 20 Summit, his last day in Bali was overshadowed by a missile crisis.
Earlier in the year, as Biden was preparing to leave for Europe, the Supreme Court overturned abortion rights.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden's Irish travels come amid turmoil at home over Pentagon leak
