The First Family of the United States have long drawn criticism over their fondness of travel, and it has kicked up a notch now that a new report reveals the fact that they have spent over $10 million a year in taxpayer money on vacations.
On Monday, the watchdog group Judicial Watch, which has been logging presidential spending, released a new report stating that the First Family has spent $85,029,819 vacationing — and that number is expected to grow before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
One particularly expensive trip, which is expected to be repeated this year, was their annual Christmas holiday in Hawaii last year. That 2015 vacation, which has been the family’s tradition each year since taking office, cost nearly $5 million alone.
“The expenses cover items such as security, flights and hotel rooms for staff and U.S. Secret Service. They do not include the price of prepositioning ships and aircraft in the area or much of the communications costs,” The Washington Examiner explained.
The Judicial Watch report explained that though the vacation was only from December 18 through January 3rd, the Secret Service had rented multiple homes in Kailua beginning on December 16. The rentals for the agents, near Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base, totaled $245,993.12 for the 19 nights.
“According to bills obtained by Judicial Watch through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Secret Service also paid for rooms at the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and Golf Club. The Secret Service also reserved rooms at the Moana Surfrider resort on Waikiki Beach, and the Ala Moana Hotel, which cost a total of $40,249.48 and $671,895.99, respectively,” the report stated. “The Secret Service rented cars from Avis, Alamo, and Hertz – 103 cars for the two-week vacation, totaling $165,893.88 in taxpayer money.”
As of September, Obama and his family had been on 28 vacations during the presidency, for a total of 217 days.
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