Category Archives: Headlines

When it comes to government planes and political trips, who pays for a president’s campaign travel?

When it comes to government planes and political trips, who pays for a president’s campaign travel?

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s no simple matter to move the commander in chief from point A to B, and it’s even more complicated when the president is seeking a second term. President Joe Biden recently spent three days in Pennsylvania, a pivotal state in the 2024 campaign, and he plans to be in Virginia and Florida this coming week. The Democratic incumbent is seeking an edge over Republican…Read more

Sluggish start for spring homebuying season as home sales fall in March with mortgage rates rising

Sluggish start for spring homebuying season as home sales fall in March with mortgage rates rising

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The spring homebuying season is off to a sluggish start as home shoppers contend with elevated mortgage rates and rising prices. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell 4.3% in March from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.19 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That’s the first monthly decline in sales since…Read more

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Alaska and Wyoming Democratic presidential contests

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Alaska and Wyoming Democratic presidential contests

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will face Democratic voters this Saturday in a pair of nominating contests in Alaska and Wyoming that are unlikely to produce any surprises. In Wyoming, Democrats will award 13 delegates using a presidential preference vote held at caucuses in each of the state’s 23 counties. Seven names will appear on the ballot, but Biden is the only major candidate..Read more

U.S. stocks soar above global markets, giving investors solid path for growth

U.S. stocks soar above global markets, giving investors solid path for growth

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. markets are far outpacing their global counterparts in 2024, continuing a decade-long trend of strong growth compared with the rest of the world. The S&P 500 is up 10% for the year, compared to just 4% for developed markets outside the U.S. Since 2019 the S&P has gained 48%, compared to just 10% for other developed markets, according to the MSCI, a benchmark of global stocks…Read more

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Category Archives: Headlines

When it comes to government planes and political trips, who pays for a president’s campaign travel?

When it comes to government planes and political trips, who pays for a president’s campaign travel?

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s no simple matter to move the commander in chief from point A to B, and it’s even more complicated when the president is seeking a second term.

President Joe Biden recently spent three days in Pennsylvania, a pivotal state in the 2024 campaign, and he plans to be in Virginia and Florida this coming week. The Democratic incumbent is seeking an edge over Republican Donald Trump as he ramps up his travels around the country.

Here’s a look at how much it costs and who pays the bill during the campaign season.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

It’s not cheap to fly the president’s fleet.

The White House uses Sikorsky helicopters known as Marine One when the president is aboard, as well as custom Boeing 747s that are immediately recognizable as the iconic humpback Air Force One. (Sometimes the president uses a more modest modified 757 if his destination is nearby or if a runway isn’t long enough to accommodate the bigger plane.)

Marine One costs between $16,700 and almost $20,000 per hour to operate, according to Pentagon data for the 2022 budget year. Air Force One is even more expensive: roughly $200,000 per hour.

But those figures only scratch the surface of the real cost. There also are military cargo planes that travel ahead of the president to make sure his armored limousines are in place, not to mention the enormous security apparatus that follows the president everywhere.

New aircraft are in the works because the current versions are decades old. Sikorsky is producing 23 updated helicopters to serve as Marine One. Boeing is building two new Air Force One planes, and they are scheduled to be finished by 2028. According to the Pentagon, the planes will come with all enhancements, including “a mission communication system,” a “self-defense system” and even “autonomous baggage loading.”

WHO PAYS FOR THE TRAVEL?

When the president flies for political purposes, the campaign is supposed to pay the bill. But during an election year, the line between governing and campaigning can be fuzzy.

For example, Biden held an official event Wednesday in Pittsburgh, where he announced his proposal for higher tariffs on steel imported from China. The event, however, was a not-so-subtle opportunity for the president to rub shoulders with union members who are critical to his reelection, and he jabbed at Trump in his remarks. (At one point Biden joked that the former president was “busy right now,” a reference to the hush money trial that recently got underway in New York.)

It’s up to the White House counsel’s office to figure out what percentage of the president’s travels are campaign related. That determines how much the federal government should be reimbursed by the Biden campaign. Sometimes the calculations aren’t straightforward, such as when the White House adds an official event to an otherwise political trip.

Norm Eisen, a White House ethics lawyer under President Barack Obama, said both Republicans and Democrats have usually hewed closely to regulations.

“We had a set of rules on how to do the allocations,” he said. “They’re intricate, and we stuck to them.”

No matter what, taxpayers end up on the hook for most of the cost. Campaigns do not pay for all the Secret Service agents and the rest of the security apparatus. In fact, they usually only cover the cost of Air Force One passengers who are flying for explicitly political purposes — sort of like buying a ticket on a particularly exclusive private jet.

HOW MUCH HAS BIDEN PAID?

Biden’s campaign and his joint fundraising committee have been stockpiling travel cash in an escrow account maintained by the Democratic National Committee. From January 2023 until the end of last month, they deposited nearly $6.5 million.

Some of that money goes to general campaign logistics, such as staff expenses and advance work. The account is also used to reimburse the federal government for official aircraft used to transport the president, the first lady, the vice president and the second gentleman when they travel for the reelection effort.

So far, not much money has found its way back to the U.S. Treasury. As of the latest data available, just $300,000 has been provided.

It’s safe to assume that Biden’s campaign will end up forking over much more than that once the campaign is over. Trump’s team reimbursed the federal government nearly $4.7 million for travel expenses during the 2020 race.

But Biden probably won’t have trouble covering his bills. His campaign and the DNC had more than $192 million in cash on hand at the end of March.

Prosecutors will make history with opening statements in Trump’s hush money criminal trial

Prosecutors will make history with opening statements in Trump’s hush money criminal trial

NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in history, prosecutors will present a criminal case against a former American president to a jury Monday as they accuse Donald Trump of a hush money scheme aimed at preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public…Continue Reading

2 jurors dismissed from Trump hush money trial as prosecutors seek to hold ex-president in contempt

2 jurors dismissed from Trump hush money trial as prosecutors seek to hold ex-president in contempt

NEW YORK (AP) — Two jurors in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial were dismissed Thursday, one after expressing doubt about her ability to be fair and impartial and the other over concerns that some of his answers in court may not have been accurate…Continue Reading

Sluggish start for spring homebuying season as home sales fall in March with mortgage rates rising

Sluggish start for spring homebuying season as home sales fall in March with mortgage rates rising

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The spring homebuying season is off to a sluggish start as home shoppers contend with elevated mortgage rates and rising prices. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell 4.3% in March from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.19 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That’s the first monthly decline in sales since…Continue Reading

News organizations urge Biden and Trump to commit to presidential debates during the 2024 campaign

News organizations urge Biden and Trump to commit to presidential debates during the 2024 campaign

NEW YORK (AP) — Twelve news organizations on Sunday urged presumptive presidential nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump to agree to debates, saying they were a “rich tradition” that have been part of every general election campaign since 1976…Continue Reading

Anti-Trump Republican Larry Hogan navigates dangerous political terrain in pivotal Senate contest

Anti-Trump Republican Larry Hogan navigates dangerous political terrain in pivotal Senate contest

STEVENSVILLE, Md. (AP) — Andy DePaola welcomed Larry Hogan to his family’s restaurant with a big smile and a handshake. The warning came a few minutes later. DePaola, the 64-year-old namesake of DePaola’s Bagel and Brunch here in Maryland’s conservative Eastern Shore, whispered to a reporter that Hogan better avoid disparaging former President DonaldContinue Reading

Boeing put under Senate scrutiny during back-to-back hearings on aircraft maker’s safety culture

Boeing put under Senate scrutiny during back-to-back hearings on aircraft maker’s safety culture

Boeing was the subject of dual Senate hearings Wednesday as Congress examined allegations of major safety failures at the embattled aircraft manufacturer, which has been pushed into crisis mode since a door-plug panel blew off a 737 Max jetliner during an Alaska Airlines flight in January…Continue Reading

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Alaska and Wyoming Democratic presidential contests

AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Alaska and Wyoming Democratic presidential contests

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will face Democratic voters this Saturday in a pair of nominating contests in Alaska and Wyoming that are unlikely to produce any surprises. In Wyoming, Democrats will award 13 delegates using a presidential preference vote held at caucuses in each of the state’s 23 counties. Seven names will appear on the ballot, but Biden is the only major candidate..Continue Reading

The Biden administration will require thousands more gun dealers to run background checks on buyers

The Biden administration will require thousands more gun dealers to run background checks on buyers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands more firearms dealers across the United States will have to run background checks on buyers when selling at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores, according to a Biden administration rule that will soon go into effect…Continue Reading

U.S. stocks soar above global markets, giving investors solid path for growth

U.S. stocks soar above global markets, giving investors solid path for growth

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. markets are far outpacing their global counterparts in 2024, continuing a decade-long trend of strong growth compared with the rest of the world. The S&P 500 is up 10% for the year, compared to just 4% for developed markets outside the U.S. Since 2019 the S&P has gained 48%, compared to just 10% for other developed markets, according to the MSCI, a benchmark of global stocks…Continue Reading

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