A watchdog says President Barack Obama’s and his family’s travel and vacation costs amounted to more than $96 million during his eight years in office.
In its latest update, Judicial Watch, the conservative watchdog group that frequently filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits against the Obama administration, said that following Obama’s latest vacation in Hawaii, the travel costs over the last eight years have reached more than $96.9 million.
This includes dozens of fundraising and campaign trips over Obama’s two terms in office.
It cited the figure based on new documents from both the Secret Service and the Air Force. Judicial Watch said that it “filed two separate Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits for Secret Service costs related to Obama travel.”
The watchdog, meanwhile, noted that Obama spent taxpayer dollars campaigning for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, apparently spending more than $360,000. Air Force One travel costs $180,118 per hour in flight, and the plane flew for about two hours round-trip to North Carolina for a Clinton campaign stop.
An October 2015 fundraising trip to San Diego apparently cost nearly $2.5 million, the group said, adding that it included U.S. Secret Service and Air Force expenses.
It added: “Michelle Obama’s February 2016 ski trip to Aspen with her daughters cost taxpayers a total of $222,875.58. The Secret Service expenses were $165,806.78. Judicial Watch previously obtained records from the Air Force revealing that Michelle Obama’s weekend trip to Aspen, Colorado, last year cost American taxpayers $57,068.80 in travel expenses alone for the 7.4-hour round-trip flight.”
In March 2016, Obama’s trip to Argentina and Cuba cost more than $7.1 million in Secret Service and Air Force travel expenses.
“The Obamas’ notorious abuse of presidential travel perks wasted military resources and stressed the Secret Service,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton stated. “Judicial Watch estimates that the final costs of Obama’s unnecessary vacation and political travel will well exceed $100 million.”
The White House has not yet commented on Judicial Watch’s findings.
