$105 MILLION and counting: New revelations of Secret Service bill for the Obamas' travel while in office sends their total into nine figures
- Documents obtained by right-leaning group shows taxpayers spent $195K to get Obama to California for a pair of fundraisers and a 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' interview
- Government was billed $271K to get the then-president to Florida for an appearance at a Hillary Clinton campaign rally
- In August 2016 the Obama family vacationed on Martha's Vineyard at a cost to the Treasury of more than $2.68 million
- Hotel costs alone for the Obamas' final trip to Hawaii last December were $1.76 million, including expenses for their staff and Secret Service details
- Donald Trump has racked up more than $4 million in free travel so far, plus more than $6 million in Coast Guard expenses to protect his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate
Taxpayers spent more than $105 million on travel for former President Barack Obama and his family during his eight years in office.
That stunning tabulation comes from Judicial Watch, a conservative-leaning watchdog nonprofit that compiled government records from the White House, the U.S. military and the Secret Service.
The group's latest cache of records includes documentation of $271,467 in travel, hotel, car rental and equipment costs related to the former president's appearance at a single Florida campaign rally for then-candidate Hillary Clinton in October 2016.
Obama also racked up $195,855 in travel expenses during a trip to Los Angeles that same month that included two political fundraisers and an appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live.'
The hotel bills alone were $127,822.
$195,855: cost of taking President Barack Obama to California for a pair of political fundriasers and an appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'
$271,467: cost of ferrying Obama to Orlando, Florida in October 2016 so he could speak at a single campaign rally for then-candidate Hillary Clinton
MILLIONS: The Obamas consumed massive amounts of money taking annual December trips to Hawaii
In August 2016 the Obama family vacationed on Martha's Vineyard at a cost of more than $2.68 million.
That number included $2.5 million in lodging for the Obamas, their staff and entourage, and their secret service detail.
The U.S. Treasury felt a similar pinch when the first family took their last taxpayer-subsidized journey to Hawaii during December 2016 and January 2017.
As Obama was filling out his last weeks in office, Secret Service spent $1.76 million on hotels in the Aloha State, and another $96,600 on rental cars.
President Donald Trump's travel bill is also inching up steadily, although he has had far less time than Obama to make a mark in the nation's pocketbook.
So far, Judicial Watch has documented $4.08 million in government-funded travel costs for the current first family.
In August 2016 the Obama family vacationed on Martha's Vineyard at a cost of more than $2.68 million, including $2.5 million in lodging expenses
Trips to Hawaii became an annual affair for the Obamas; the president was born there
Michelle Obama’s June 2016 solo trip to Morocco cost $128,000 for hotels; $88,000 in car rentals; $1,400 in gasoline and nearly $1,000 in cell phone charges
Trump's 'Thank You Tour,' a series of campaign-style rallies following Election Day, cost $475,478 in travel, hotel, car and equipment expenses.
And his trips to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in south Florida, cost taxpayers $3.6 million – just between February 3 and March 27 of this year.
He made two more visits there in April, and several weekend journeys since then to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
It can cost more than $180,000 per hour to fly Air Force One, a specialized Boeing 747 that ferries a U.S. president in safety.
The White House typically sends a second 747 ahead of the first as a backup in case of mechanical difficulties.
The Washington Post has also documented $6.6 million in military costs – including $5.9 million spent by the U.S. Coast Guard – related with protecting the president during the 25 days he spent at Mar-a-Lago this year.
Donald Trump's travel expenses are ticking up and could conceivably overtake Obama's if he serves eight years in the White House
The Coast Guard used cutters, patrol boats, helicopters and anti-terror specialists from across the country to safeguard the luxury Palm Beach, estate, the Post reported.
'It is troubling to see such massive amounts of money paid out for trips that appear to have minimal value to the public interest,' Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said Thursday in a statement.
Fitton also called it 'frustrating' that his organization has to file lawsuits to wrest the documents away from government agencies that are subject to the Freedom Of Information Act – but hide records anyway.
Judicial Watch reported in July that Vice President Mike Pence spent $89,000 taking Air Force Two to the Super Bowl in February.
And former first lady Michelle Obama's March 2014 trip to China cost taxpayers nearly $390,000.
Most watched News videos
- Shocking scenes at Dubai airport after flood strands passengers
- Prince Harry makes surprise video appearance from his Montecito home
- Shocking moment school volunteer upskirts a woman at Target
- Chaos in Dubai morning after over year and half's worth of rain fell
- Moment Met Police arrests cyber criminal in elaborate operation
- Appalling moment student slaps woman teacher twice across the face
- Murder suspects dragged into cop van after 'burnt body' discovered
- Prince William resumes official duties after Kate's cancer diagnosis
- Shocking scenes in Dubai as British resident shows torrential rain
- Sweet moment Wills handed get well soon cards for Kate and Charles
- Jewish campaigner gets told to leave Pro-Palestinian march in London
- 'Inhumane' woman wheels CORPSE into bank to get loan 'signed off'
