Biden administration expected to announce diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics this week

(CNN) — The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that no U.S. government officials will attend the 2022 Beijing Olympics, implementing a diplomatic boycott of the games, according to several sources.

The move would allow the U.S. to send a message on the world stage to China without preventing US athletes from competing. The National Security Council, which has been privately discussing the boycott, declined to comment.

President Joe Biden told reporters last month that he was weighing a diplomatic boycott as Democratic and Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, advocated for one in protest of China’s human rights abuses.

A full boycott is not expected, meaning U.S. athletes will still be allowed to compete. The last time the U.S. fully boycotted the Olympics was in 1980 when former President Jimmy Carter was in office.