Obama Plans 17-Day Christmas Vacation in Hawaii

President Barack Obama will be setting off later this month for a 17-day Christmas vacation in Hawaii with his family.

The White House travel office said Obama has no public events scheduled for the trip, which is scheduled for Dec. 17 to Jan. 2. He spent several days in Hawaii last month for an economic summit with other world leaders.

According to the Daily Mail, the president's family covers the cost of a private beach front residence in Kailua, Oahu, for the span of the vacation, reportedly dubbed a 'Winter White House' that costs up to $3,500 a day, or $75,000 a month.

Still, taxpayers help foot the bill for security and travel costs: A similar vacation last year cost more than $1.4 million.

Obama announced plans for the trip during a campaign fundraiser while he was in Hawaii for last month's summit.

"Michelle and the girls will be back shortly for Christmas vacation, as we do every year," Obama said in November. "We'll see if Washington gets its business done, so I can get here as well. But that's always a challenge."

News of the vacation comes as Obama said Congress shouldn't adjourn for the holidays themselves until they pass an extension to the payroll tax cut. The tax cut is set to expire at the end of the year, and though both parties support extending it, they differ sharply on how to offset the costs.

"We’re going to keep pushing Congress to make this happen. They shouldn’t go home for the holidays until they get this done," Obama said in his weekly radio address Saturday.

The 17-day Christmas vacation follows Obama's 11-day vacation to Martha's Vineyard this summer.