Who pays for Michelle Obama's mother to live in White House?

Answer 1

First, it is not unheard of for family members to live in the White House: Mamie Eisenhower (wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower) had her mother spend the winter months at the White House, and the mother of Bess Truman (wife of President Harry Truman) moved in and spent extended periods of time there. As for who foots the bill, it would probably be partly the taxpayers because Marian Robinson (Michelle Obama's mom) actually has some very specific duties-- she helps to take care of her grand-daughters, with whom she is very close. Having her there is part of the Obamas' commitment to allowing their two kids to live as normal a life as possible. Thus, if she goes on vacation with the Obamas (which she did several times), she would travel on Air Force One, and get secret service protection, since she is part of the First Family.

However, it is doubtful the taxpayers would pay for everything: there is long-standing precedent for first ladies to reimburse the government for personal expenses that had nothing to do with their immediately family. For example, when Michelle and the girls went to Spain in 2010, some family friends joined them. but the expenses for the family friends were not picked up by the taxpayers, according to various news reports. (And although some partisan reports claimed she traveled with 40 friends and cost the taxpayers millions, that turned out to be false.) Still, it is probably a gray area as to how much the Obamas reimburse the treasury for having Grandma with them, and how much the taxpayers are paying.

Answer 2

First, it is not unheard of for family members to live in the White House: Mamie Eisenhower (wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower) had her mother spend the winter months at the White House, and the mother of Bess Truman (wife of President Harry Truman) moved in and spent extended periods of time there. As for who pays for Michelle's mom, Marian Robinson, it would probably be partly the taxpayers because the "First Grandmother" has some very specific duties-- she helps to take care of her grand-daughters, with whom she is very close. Having her there is part of the Obamas' commitment to allowing their two kids to live as normal a life as possible. Thus, if she goes on vacation with the Obamas (which she did several times), she would travel on Air Force One, and get secret service protection, since she is part of the First Family.

However, the taxpayers do not pay for everything: there is long-standing precedent for First Ladies to reimburse the government for personal expenses that had nothing to do with their immediately family. For example, when Michelle and the girls went to Spain in 2010, some family friends joined them. But the expenses for the family friends were not picked up by the taxpayers, according to various news reports. (And although some partisan reports claimed Michelle traveled with 40 friends and cost the taxpayers millions, that turned out to be false.) Still, it is probably a gray area as to how much the Obamas reimburse the treasury for having Grandma with them, and how much the taxpayers are paying.

Answer 3

The President pays out of his own pocket for all personal expenses, including food for personal guests and family.

Answer 4

No. Ex-presidents and their wives get security guards and the president gets some money for secretarial expenses, but they do not get money for travel or housing.