Donald Trump Staying At White House Over New Year’s & Canceling His Mar-A-Lago Plans, Says Mick Mulvaney
The government shutdown continues with no end in sight, and now the shutdown apparently is impacting President Donald Trump’s plans to be at his Florida resort for New Year’s Eve. Trump already missed spending his Christmas holiday at the luxurious estate, and now incoming Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney indicates that the president will be staying at the White House in Washington, D.C., for New Year’s Eve as well.
As the Inquisitr previously shared, President Donald Trump was expected to spend 16 days at Mar-a-Lago over the holidays. However, the government shutdown created a situation where the president seemingly realized that changing course was a wise idea. The optics of the president relaxing at Mar-a-Lago over Christmas while the government was shut down likely would have generated a lot of negativity for Trump.
Now, CNN shares that the president apparently is sticking around the White House through New Year’s as well. That news comes from Mick Mulaney, the current Office of Management and Budget Director and soon-to-be acting chief of staff. Mulvaney says that Trump has now canceled his plans for New Year’s and that he’s heavily engaged in the current battle over the shutdown and his demand for border wall money.
As much of the federal government grinds to a halt, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort still needs tents for the winter party season—and taxpayers are footing at least $54,000 of the bill. https://t.co/nWJebfXYqT
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) December 27, 2018
While the president may have conceded that he needed to stick around Washington, D.C., for New Year’s as the government shutdown continues, it seems that first lady Melania Trump has headed back to Florida. The Inquisitr reported earlier that she flew back to Palm Beach County Thursday night, and it seems that son Barron has already been staying at Mar-a-Lago.
What does all of this mean for the pricey and exclusive New Year’s Eve party held annually at Mar-a-Lago? As the Palm Beach Post details, tickets were priced at $1,000 a piece for guests this year, an increase from $750 last year and $575 the year before that. Apparently, the price for members went up only slightly to $650 per ticket this year versus $600 last year and $525 the year before.
President Trump has canceled his New Year's plans in order to remain in Washington until the partial government shutdown ends, the incoming acting chief of staff says https://t.co/kz4OE07ZY2 pic.twitter.com/DASJMbnUyB
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) December 28, 2018
Those shelling out big bucks for the Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party clearly do so in part for the opportunity to rub elbows with the president. Granted, some other Trump family members will be there, as Ivanka and Jared are said to be vacationing in Florida in addition to Melania and Barron. However, the resort may face some pushback over the party pricing with the president seemingly not attending now.
There had been a fair amount of speculation that Trump’s sudden and surprise trip abroad to visit the troops might have ultimately been used as a way for him to get to Mar-a-Lago for New Year’s. However, he did head back to the White House and many will be watching to see if he truly stays put into January.