After two weeks of sunshine and 10 rounds of golf, President Barack Obama is preparing for the busy fall awaiting him.
Advertisement
The Obama’s family spent two weeks at their summer vacation house at the popular MA retreat, an island located south of Cape Cod.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest pushed back at critics who have scolded President Obama for his response to what has been called the country’s worst natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy, saying on Monday that “there is all too common temptation to focus on politics and optics”. The state now says that an estimated 60,000 homes have flood damage and 106,000 people have registered for federal disaster aid.
In July, the fatal police shooting of a black man outside of a convenience store sparked protests and mass arrests.
And that’s not the only item on the agenda for his last five months in office – there’s a battle with Congress to fund the fight against the Zika virus, criticism of the $400 million payout to Iran, his upcoming trip to China for his final G20 summit, and the 2016 campaign.
He’s also expected to campaign aggressively in October to help Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Obama will become the first USA president to visit Laos.
Brown – who received then-President George W. Bush’s infamous praise, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job”, as thousands of survivors went without food and shelter 11 years ago – said Obama was justified in not descending immediately on Baton Rouge, which would have diverted critical resources from flood recovery.
That’s exactly what Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, did late last week as part of a visit meant to fill what they saw as a leadership vacuum.
Lawmakers plan to leave Washington again at the end of September, and not return until after the November 8 elections. The issue took on a new sense of urgency after Florida last week identified the popular Miami tourist haven of South Beach as the second site of Zika transmission on the US mainland.
In turn, incensed lawmakers have promised to keep the heat on the administration by holding hearings on the $400 million it delivered to Iran in January. Questioned about the payment earlier this month, Obama said: “We do not pay ransom. We didn’t here. And we … won’t in the future”. At least 40 state highways remained closed.
Iran had paid $400 million in the 1970s for USA military equipment.
Advertisement
After the Louisiana visit, the president heads to Nevada on August 31 to discuss environmental protection at the Lake Tahoe Summit.
