Obama blames Secret Service for cancelled WH tours

The buck stops... where, exactly?

Four days after shuttering the White House to the public to cut costs, President Obama says he’s asking the U.S. Secret Service about the possibility of resuming tours for school groups, which have begun descending on the nation’s capital for spring break.

“What I’m asking them is are there ways, for example, for us to accommodate school groups … who may have traveled here with some bake sales,” Obama told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an interview on “Good Morning America.” “Can we make sure that kids, potentially, can still come to tour?”

Obama’s comments suggested, contrary to previous statements by the administration, that the decision to scrap the tours fell solely to the Secret Service.

“I have to say this was not a decision that went up to the White House,” Obama said in the interview. “But what the Secret Service explained to us was that they’re going to have to furlough some folks.

“The question for them is, you know, how deeply do they have to furlough their staff and is it worth it to make sure that we’ve got White House tours that means that you got a whole bunch of families who are depending on a paycheck, who suddenly are seeing a 5 percent or 10 percent reduction in their pay,” he said.

Aaaand, as one who never passes an opportunity for media attention, it's Donald Trump to the rescue.  Trump has offered to personally donate the estimated $18,000/week to keep the White House open for tours -- an offer the Obama administration quickly rebuked: