Trump heads to Camp David for the weekend

President Trump left the White House on Saturday for an overnight trip to Camp David in Maryland following a busy week in Washington, D.C., with Republicans pushing to overhaul the tax code.

Trump spoke briefly with reporters at the White House after noon on Saturday to tout the tax plan before leaving for the presidential retreat. He is scheduled to return to Washington on Sunday evening.

The president hailed the GOP’s release of its final tax bill ahead of expected votes early next week, saying it would amount to a “great Christmas gift” to the middle class.

{mosads}

Trump, who usually opts to spend weekends at his properties in Bedminster, N.J., and Palm Beach, Fla., has only visited Camp David a handful of times during his presidency. 

He praised the retreat, which has been used by his predecessors, calling it “a very special place” after a visit earlier this year. 

Camp David is a very special place. An honor to have spent the weekend there. Military runs it so well and are so proud of what they do!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2017

The president’s latest visit follows an eventful week in Washington underscored by congressional Republicans’ push to overhaul the tax code.

Republicans came one step closer to passing their tax plan on Friday, releasing the final version of their bill. Meanwhile, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) — two key holdouts — announced that they would back the plan, essentially guaranteeing its passage in the Senate.

The developments brought Trump and congressional Republicans closer to securing their first major legislative victory since gaining control of the White House and both chambers of Congress in January.

Trump has said he wants to sign a final version of the tax bill by Christmas.

The president continued to make headlines on Friday when he tore into the FBI shortly before heading to Quantico, Va., to address the agency’s training academy. 

“It’s a shame what’s happened with the FBI. But we’re going to rebuild the FBI; it’ll be bigger and better than ever,” Trump told reporters outside of the White House. 

Trump also referred to revelations about the bureau’s handling of Hillary Clinton’s email server and text messages from agent Peter Strzok criticizing him as “really, really disgraceful.”

“You have a lot of very angry people who are seeing it,” the president said. “It’s a very sad thing to watch, I will tell you that.”

The president also sparked outrage in the intelligence community earlier this month when he tweeted that the FBI’s reputation was in “tatters.”

After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters – worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017