Biden will host Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for St. Patrick's Day trends now
President Joe Biden will host Irish leader Leo Varadkar for a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House on Friday after the COVID pandemic scuttled festivities for the past two years.
Green will be the theme of the day amid a packed-schedule of holiday-related activities that includes an Oval Office meeting, a luncheon on Capitol Hill hosted by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Irish eggs for breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Varadkar's visit comes after Biden said he plans to visit both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland next month, which marks the 25th anniversary of the U.S.-brokered Good Friday accord.
The agreement helped end sectarian violence that had raged for three decades over whether Northern Ireland should unify with Ireland or remain part of the United Kingdom.
'I want to acknowledge the central role which the US has played in the peace process on our island, driving it forward and critical points,' Varadkar said Friday morning during his meeting with Harris.
The two men will also discuss the war in the Ukraine when they meet in the Oval Office.
Vice President Kamala Harris toasts as she hosts a St. Patrick's Day Breakfast with Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, seated left
Ahead of his meeting with Biden, Varadkar, known as the taoiseach, and his partner Matthew Barrett visited the Naval Observatory for breakfast with Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. 'Eggs St. Patrick' were on the menu. It's an Irish twist on Eggs Benedict.
Harris wore a green pants suit for the occasion. The three men had shamrock in the breast pockets of their suit jackets.
She acknowledged Biden's love of all things Irish and noted: 'He is quite exuberant in that joy and I now have caught the bug.'
Later on Friday, the boyband One Direction and Irish singer Niall Horan will perform for leaders and invited guests at the White House.
Horan was one of the five members of One Direction, the popular 2010 English-Irish boy band, which sold more than 70 million records globally. The band officially split in January 2016.
During Friday's visit, Varadkar is expected to present
