The president and first lady have been in Florida since the day before Christmas Eve.
President Trump plans to return to the White House from Florida on Thursday — earlier than originally planned, according to a schedule released late Wednesday night.
The president’s early departure for Washington, D.C., comes as guests are set to attend the annual New Year’s Eve gala at Mar-a-Lago, at which Trump has made remarks for the previous three years of his presidency, according to The Hill.
“The President and First Lady will be leaving Florida for the White House tomorrow at 11:00 AM,” the schedule said, according to a tweet posted by Francesca Chambers, a reporter for McClatchy.
No specific reason was given for the change in plans, The Associated Press reported.
The president and first lady have been in Florida since Dec. 23.
Trump has been preoccupied with the election and the coronavirus relief bill during that time.
Earlier Wednesday, Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri announced he planned to challenge Congress’s counting of the Electoral College votes next Wednesday that would affirm President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
Senate GOP leaders are against the effort to challenge Biden’s win, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recognizing the former vice president’s victory, and behind closed doors urging Senate Republicans not to contest the election results.
But with Hawley joining the small group of House Republicans in objecting, the joint session of Congress next week would be dissolved and the House and Senate would then meet separately for two hours to debate and vote on a contested state’s electoral vote.
A state’s slate of electoral votes would be tossed only if both the House and Senate vote to do so.
Trump earlier Wednesday tweeted, “JANUARY SIXTH, SEE YOU IN DC!” as he continues his push to overturn the election results.
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Source:
Fox News and Associated Press
Brie Stimson and Paul Steinhauser and Jason Donner
December 31, 2020
