Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, offered some stern advice for the first family on a local Iowa radio show Wednesday, when he criticized first daughters Sasha and Malia Obama's recent spring break vacation to the Bahamas while federal budget belt-tightening of sequestration continues, reports
Huffington Post.
“That is the wrong image to be coming out of the White House,” King said.
Speaking of President Obama, King added: “He needs to show some austerity himself.”
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King was responding to a caller named Carla after she said she found the Obama girls' vacation “really hard to stomach” and “not acceptable.”
“You’re on point and on the mark all the way through,” King said.
Accusations about the Obamas' lavish lifestyle have been mounting from certain members of the GOP.
During her recent address at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., riled the crowd with allegations that American taxpayers were footing the bill for such luxuries as a dog walker for the first family's dog, Bo.
The charge was later revealed to be unfounded.
Still, Bachmann's commentary on the privileges of the White House underscores an attempt by conservatives, echoed by King on Wednesday, to turn the federal spending cuts debate to their political advantage.
Driving home his point, King reminded listeners that the president “sent the daughters to spring break in Mexico a year ago. That was at our expense, too.”
Presidents have traditionally paid for the personal expenses of family vacations, while taxpayers fund security and staffing.
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