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White House Cancels All Public Tours and Blames Sequester

White House Cancels All Public Tours and Blames Sequester

Sequestration is taking its toll on our country.

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Well, it looks like it has happened. It has finally really happened: Sequestration is taking its toll on the country.

The automatic spending cuts signed into law by President Barack Obama last week has forced the White House to cancel all public tours, the White House announced Tuesday.

Here are some details from the Washington Times:

The White House announced Tuesday that it was canceling all public tours of the president’s home because of the sequester spending cuts.

“Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration, we regret to inform you that White House Tours will be canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013 until further notice. Unfortunately, we will not be able to reschedule affected tours,” the White House said in an email.

The notice comes as both the White House and Congress try to find cuts to their own budgets as part of $85 billion in cuts to the entire government.

At the Capitol, staffers who use the building’s West Front entrance that looks out on the National Mall were told Tuesday that door would be closed as of next week in order to save money.

So, if we understand this correctly, the White House is revoking public access to a public building because of budget cuts? Well, okay then.

Also, it's worth noting that, according to the White House website, self-guided tours are definitely a thing:

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We're not entirely sure how sequester-related staff reductions have anything to do with self-guided tours, but we're certain there's a good reason.

When TheBlaze called the White House Visitors Office Information Line for comment, our call was immediately directed to a recording stating sequestration was to blame for the cancellations. The recording also suggested that we call back at a later time for more updates.

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

Featured image Getty Images. This post has been updated.

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