(CNN) -- President Barack Obama's trip to the West Coast next week that was set to include remarks to a labor group has been canceled so he can continue making the case for strikes in Syria, the White House said Thursday.
Obama was slated to deliver an address Monday at a meeting of the AFL-CIO in Los Angeles, and attend a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee.
The president and his aides have been pressing their case to lawmakers for a military strike in Syria for the past several days. On Thursday, Obama phoned five senators, both Democrats and Republicans, to discuss Syria further.
Obama is in St. Petersburg, Russia, for a meeting of the Group of 20.