Obama blasted for holiday trip expenses
US President Barack Obama’s family trip to Hawaii for the Christmas holidays “is too expensive” and will cost millions of dollars, says a government spending watchdog.
Obama and the First Family will board the presidential jet, known as Air Force One, on Friday and head to Hawaii to spend their holidays there for the eighth consecutive year, according to the White House.
The president began the yearly tradition in 2008, before he took the oath of office.
“The Obamas' travel is out of control. They are treating the Air Force One like an Uber ride,” said Tom Fitton, the head of the Judicial Watch, a top government accountability campaigner. “And President Obama seems oblivious to the burden he is placing on Americans with his continuous vacations, getaways, and political junkets at taxpayer expense.”
The US Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that there are temporary flight restrictions in Hawaii from December 19 to January 4.
It is hard to calculate exactly how much of a burden the trip puts on American taxpayers.
However, Watchdog.com has reported that during the 2014 trip, an Air Force One cargo plane was used to transport the presidential helicopter and limousine, which costs more than $150,000 to get to Hawaii and back.
A second plane was also used to bring a Marine Corps contingent at similar costs.
This is while some expenses, including rent, are paid by Obama, but the emergency personnel and daily expenses of his security are all funded publicly.
During the trip, the Obama family is usually accompanied by an entourage of Secret Service agents, who are paid $200 per person per night; another huge bill cleared using the White House funds.
Local police will also work overtime and an ambulance will follow the presidential family at all times, according to theWatchdog.com report.
The Honolulu police department in Hawaii’s capital spends about $275,000 a year in overtime for its officers, while the ambulance from the local Emergency Management Services costs $15,890 to keep on call, the report said.
In March, the White House denied rumors that Obama has purchased a $8.7 million beachfront home in Hawaii, through Marty Nesbitt, a close friend and also the chair of the Barack Obama Foundation.
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