Obama cancels California trip to make Syria case

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A protester holds up her hand, covered in red paint symbolizing blood, as Secretary of State John F. Kerry testifies Wednesday during a House hearing on proposed military strikes against Syria. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

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In the White House Rose Garden on Aug. 31, President Obama announced he would seek the approval of Congress to launch a military strike against the Syrian government. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)

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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, left, Secretary of State F. John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel testify Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

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Anti-war demonstrators protest against a possible U.S. attack on Syria in front of the White House on Monday. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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Demonstrators opposed to the U.S. attacking Syria rally in front of the White House on Tuesday. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images)

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Secretary of State John F. Kerry confers with U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the Syria situation on Wednesday. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

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Code Pink protesters hold up their red-painted hands, symbolizing blood, behind Secretary of State John F. Kerry as he testifies on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

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Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel consults extensively revised notes as he testifies at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Tuesday at the Capitol on the authorization of use of force in Syria. (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA)

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Code Pink protesters Ellen Taylor, left, and Medea Benjamin disrupt an appearance by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday. (Jim Watson/ AFP/Getty Images)

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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who opposes attacking Syria, listens during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)

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President Obama meets with members of Congress at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Syria. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is mobbed by reporters after leaving a closed-door meeting about Syria at the Capitol on Wednesday. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

By Michael A. Memoli

Sept. 5, 2013 12:36 PM PT

WASHINGTON -- President Obama will not travel to California next week so that he can press his case to members of Congress for a military strike against Syria, the White House announced.

Obama was scheduled to address the AFL-CIO’s quadrennial convention in Los Angeles and attend a party fundraiser. The fundraiser has been postponed, a Democratic National Committee official said.

Obama left Washington on Tuesday night for a trip to Sweden and the G20 summit in Russia, and is not scheduled to return until Friday. He faces increasing pressure from allies and supporters of a punitive military strike to ramp up his public lobbying effort, perhaps in a national address.

FULL COVERAGE: The debate over Syria

Though many lawmakers have returned to the Capitol for public hearings and classified briefings on the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons, Monday is the first scheduled full session in both the House and the Senate since early August.

The Senate will have a brief, pro forma session Friday for the purpose of filing the resolution to authorize force, as passed by the Foreign Relations Committee Thursday. The first procedural vote could come on Wednesday, Senate aides said.

The House of Representatives is not likely to take up the resolution until after it emerges from the Senate, if it does at all. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi indicated Wednesday that consideration there may not come for another two weeks.

The White House says Obama continues to contact lawmakers from abroad. He “made five calls to a bipartisan group of senators” Wednesday, an official said.

TRANSCRIPT: Obama’s remarks on Syria

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