President Donald Trump arrives aboard Air Force One at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Florida, March 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstReuter
US President Donald Trump has completed one year in office. He is now set to depart Washington to celebrate his one-year inauguration anniversary at a glitzy gala at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, hours before the deadline to avoid a government shutdown on Friday midnight.
On Saturday, Trump will mark his first 12 months in office with a lavish party at the resort. The couple will spend the weekend in Mar-a-Lago, CNN reported.
The gala is being hosted by Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel and gambling magnate Steve Wynn, according to reports.
Trump's trip comes amid the looming shutdown deadline as the President and Republican leaders in Congress raced to meet the Friday deadline to pass a short-term spending bill to keep agencies from shutting down.
"We believe that the bill will pass and the President will have an opportunity to sign it," White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters.
"I mean, some of the timing and logistics of travel will have to reflect the reality, but we expect it to be passed. And we expect the President to be able to travel to Florida this weekend."
Vice President Mike Pence is also scheduled to leave Washington on Friday evening for his three-country tour to the Middle East. He will visit Egypt, Israel and Jordan.
The House voted on Thursday night to keep the government open through mid-February but the legislation to prevent shutdown encountered obstacles in the Senate a few hours later.
The mix of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate who opposed the House bill for varying reasons left the legislation on the verge of defeat.
A bitter fight broke out on the Senate floor shortly after the House passage and was expected to continue on Friday.
Democrats demanded an immigration measure be added to the funding bill to protect a large group of young, undocumented immigrants known as "Dreamers".
The President, meanwhile, continued to push to build a wall along the US border with Mexico that many lawmakers do not want as part of any immigration deal.
Check out all the images of U.S President Donald Trump's first year in office:
Washington, UNITED STATESPresident Donald Trump (L-R), joined by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, senior advisor Steve Bannon, Communications Director Sean Spicer and National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, January 28, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstReuter
Washington, UNITED STATESPresident Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaReuter
Hamburg, GermanyRussia's President Vladimir Putin talks to President Donald Trump during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaReuter
President Donald Trump gathers with Vice President Mike Pence (R) and Congressional Republicans in the Rose Garden of the White House after the House of Representatives approved the American Healthcare Act, to repeal major parts of Obamacare and replace it with the Republican healthcare plan, in Washington, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaReuter
Without his protective glasses on, President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with first lady Melania and son Barron at the White House in Washington, August 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueReuter
Former FBI Director James Comey prepares to testify before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on "Russian Federation Efforts to Interfere in the 2016 U.S. Elections" on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Bourg Reuter
Washington, UNITED STATESSecretary of State Rex Tillerson listens as President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueReuter
President Donald Trump confers with White House Communications Director Hope Hicks (L) as White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders (R) listens during an interview with Reuters at the White House in Washington, January 17, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueReuter
President Donald Trump waves after delivering remarks at the 2017 National Scout Jamboree in Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve, West Virginia, July 24, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaReuter
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania attend the Inaugural luncheon at the National Statuary Hall in Washington, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri GripasReuter
