On Friday, the White House quietly announced the re-opening of White House tours, despite the fact that sequestration, which supposedly forced the closing of those tours in the first place, has not ended.
The tours will still be held only three days per week as opposed to the original five, according to the White House, which gave that newsbreak to its allies at The Huffington Post. The tours will formally reopen on November 5.
The Secret Service apparently claims that it has discovered how to manage money better and therefore can reopen the tours with alacrity. Robert Novy, spokesman for the Secret Service, explained: “Sequestration came midway through the fiscal year and we were unable to reallocate remaining funds while ensuring funds remained for operations and avoided furloughing employees.”
“In light of the new fiscal year, the Secret Service is confident that through the new [funding bill] we can operate at reduced funding levels while still meeting our operational requirements,” he said.