Posted on 08/13/2014 9:24:12 PM PDT by upchuck
President Obama won't make any major announcements on immigration reform during his secretive mid-vacation trip back to Washington next week, the White House said Wednesday.
The president is expected to return to the White House on Sunday, but officials won't say why Obama is taking the unusual, and costly, trip back to Washington. He's expected to return to Martha's Vineyard, where he's been vacationing, on Tuesday.
Speculation has circled around whether Obama might make an announcement of executive actions he's taking on immigration reform, or a surprise visit from a foreign leader.
But the White House is "not anticipating a major announcement on immigration when the president is in Washington," spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters traveling with Obama in Massachusetts.
Schultz did say that Obama will be meeting with Vice President Biden while he's back in Washington. And Obama will be without both press secretary Josh Earnest, who is out on paternity leave, and Schultz, Earnest's top deputy, while in the nation's capital.
"Eric Schultz is staying," the spokesman quipped, dipping into the third person.
Adding more mystery to the topic, Schultz said the administration did not "anticipate any major significant news developments out of Washington those few days."
But if the president is only coming back to meet with staff face-to-face, it could invite questions about wasting taxpayer dollars.
According to Air Force documents obtained Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, the roundtrip travel expenses for the president's 2013 vacation to Martha's Vineyard totaled $1,164,268.
A return to Washington merely to meet with staff would also seem to undercut assurances offered by the White House that the president is fully operational, even when vacationing away from the capital.
Asked about partisan criticism of the vacation last Friday, Schultz noted Obama "travels with a wide array of communications equipment, and we also travel with a staff that allows us to have robust operational capabilities."
Wonder if POTUS is required to be in DC to make a recess appointment when congress is not in session? As in, POTUS can’t make a recess appointment if POTUS is in recess too..??
The press-stitute secretary spokesman said nothing newsworthy would happen. I heard: “Obama is most definitely going to do something lawless and underhanded while Congress is in recess.”
Image. Photo Ops
The man-boy will be photographed sitting at his desk with a miserable straggle of staff, looking stern while cities burn and people starve and die
Maybe he’ll get a sternly worded letter delivered from Senate Democrats telling him he is screwing them over
Then after the photo ops- back to the Vineyard for steak and golf and fund raising
Where is Jarrett? Passed out poolside with Mooch?
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No kidding - and I agree! I've been wondering about this myself. What a savings.
Same holds true for Congress. Keep them physically in their districts/states and "Go To Meeting" for their usual jackassery.
He’s coming back for the FUNERAL of the General that got killed!! It’s the LEAST he could do.
it’s BUSH’S fault
"No big deal---you wanted to pepper spray terrorists, I wanted to water-bomb them w/ happy face balloons."
Wiping away a tear, Obama's former van driver, Tommy Vietor said, Theyre friends and human beings first, he sobbed. Vietor sat in on Situation Room briefings and got Nation Security Clearance. He now does "messaging" for a living. Hillary hired Vietor to masterminded her disastrous book tour.
I don’t think Obama cares about ISIS, the middle east, our borders or anything else. He’s probably coming back because black thugs are looting and he wants to make sure the thugs are protected.
And yes, I know that’s harsh - but Democrats only care about each other. Their victim groups are all that matters - the rest of us - and the world could drop off the edge and they wouldn’t care.
I don’t think Obama will do his amnesty proclamation in the middle of his Martha’s Vineyard vacation, but I do wonder what’s up.
No, I think he’s a totally political animal, and he can read the polls. In fact, I don’t think he’ll do anything on immigration if the polls keep dropping until after the November elections.
And, did that hack ever play golf before he got to DC?
He’s coming back for the Funeral of the General that was killed!! He FINALLY figured out he has to look like an ADULT.
Left Reggie Love tied up in the Lincoln Bedroom. Also, needed to retrieve his ball gag.
“Why is Obama returning to Washington?”
Because he found the coordinates to Site Y?
He forgot his 9 iron?
Because VJ told him to.
Ed Snowden gave all of Lois Lerner’s emails to the press and it’s time to strategize damage control?
It’s funny ( unusual funny, not funny funny) how the last Dem who owned a home was Carter. They have to “rent” their homes for vacation.
I always felt more comfortable when our leaders have their own, established place to relax and recharge.
He forgot his One Iron?
ISIS will vanish from the news with the legalization of 20 million illegals.
He ran out of Weed in Mass.
Because of all the bad press he and DEMS are getting. Needs to appear engaged and to promote the idea of a “working” vacation. That was the purpose of the presser today and that is why he is returning for a few days, appearances.
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