"So I suggest that perhaps he curtailed the travel, or perhaps auction off the set of clubs and he might be able to allow those Iowa tots to come through the White House," Krauthammer added. "I'm not cynical enough – I’m trying."
◼ Awesome: #OpenOurWH trends after Eric Bolling and Sean Hannity offer to pay for White House tours - Twitchy
Big announcement @5pm! Mr President I'll pick up the tab if you reopen White House for tours. Shouldn't the people's house be open?"TheFive"
— ericbolling (@ericbolling) March 7, 2013
“Let these families take their White House tours next week and I’ll cover the added expenses. Word is it will cost around $74,000,” he said on Thursday’s edition of “The Five.”
Fellow Fox News host Sean Hannity quickly joined in with a matching offer to help end the White House’s ongoing theatrics.
◼ Fox News anchor offers to personally pay to keep White House tours open - Alex Pappas/Daily Caller
Bolling’s offer comes as critics accuse the Obama administration of shutting down the tours not out of necessity, but in order to portray the cuts as more severe to average Americans than they really are.
It’s not known exactly how much it would cost Bolling to do this. ABC News estimates that the White House is saving about $18,000 a week. Politico reported that it costs the the Secret Service about $74,000 a week to staff the tours.
The White House first announced the cancellation of the tours this week after the automatic cuts to federal agencies – known as the sequester – went into effect March 1.
“Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration we regret to inform that White House tours will be canceled effective Saturday March 9, 2013 until further notice,” the White House said this week. “Unfortunately we will not be able to reschedule affected tours.”
