While Buffalo residents continue to dig out of a blizzard that has reportedly killed at least 40 in western New York, President Joe Biden on Dec. 29 signed the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package in St. Croix, where he is vacationing with family at a beachfront villa owned by a billionaire couple who donated to his 2020 presidential campaign.
The bill was flown to St. Croix from the White House so Biden could sign it by the Dec. 30 deadline.
The legislation avoided a federal government shutdown before the calendar turned to 2023.
On Christmas Eve, a large portion of the United States battled with extreme cold and snow that killed at least 65, caused widespread power outages, and resulted in 10,000 canceled flights, including 2,500 by Southwest Airlines.
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Biden departed the White House on Dec. 27 to vacation at the three-bedroom home with sweeping views of the Caribbean Sea on the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Before the president left for St. Croix, his official Twitter account promoted his efforts to “confront the existential threat climate change poses” by signing legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act.
“One of the reasons I ran for office was to confront the existential threat climate change poses to our nation and to the world,” Biden’s post on Twitter reads. “With the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, we took the biggest step towards that goal in American history.”
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee criticized Biden for the decision to have the omnibus bill flown to St. Croix instead of signing it in Washington.
“Basically what it says is Joe Biden doesn’t give a rip what’s happening to the American public,” Huckabee told Sean Hannity. “I mean, he could have at least filled up Air Force One with a bunch of people from Buffalo, New York, and taken them down to the U.S. Virgin Islands for some time in the sun. That would have been nice.
“[They] went with it all because they said it was an emergency,” Huckabee added. “It’s such an emergency that Biden took off and let that bill sit there on his desk.”
Huckabee said Biden’s vocal support for countering climate change also doesn’t mesh with the fact a government jet had to be dispatched to fly a piece of legislation thousands of miles from Washington so that he could sign it.
The villa where the Bidens are staying is owned by billionaire couple Bill and Connie Neville, who were among the guests at Biden’s first presidential state dinner in December with French President Emmanuel Macron.
According to the White House, the Bidens have previously vacationed at the Neville residence.
Federal Election Commission records indicate that the Nevilles donated more than $10,000 to Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
Bill Neville founded US Viking, a software company that produces a newsroom computer system marketed by the Associated Press.
The Nevilles, who are from Alabama, contributed the largest single donation in Auburn University Athletics history. Auburn Arena was renamed Neville Arena to recognize the donation.
The St. Croix excursion is Biden’s third vacation of 2022. Each time, a friend’s house served as the complimentary lodging.
In November, Biden and his family stayed in Nantucket at the home of David Rubenstein, billionaire co-founder of Carlyle Group, a private equity firm.
In August, Biden stayed at the Kiawah Island, South Carolina, mansion of Maria Allwin, a mega-donor and the widow of hedge fund founder James Allwin.
Noting Biden’s 2022 vacation schedule, the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee wrote on Twitter, “Joe Biden hasn’t visited the southern border since he took office. But at least he’s been to Nantucket and St. Croix.”
The Bidens are expected to return to the White House from vacation on Jan. 2.
