President Trump will spend Christmas in Washington due to the ongoing partial government shutdown.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Sunday that first lady Melania Trump will fly back from Florida “so they can spend Christmas together.” Trump later tweeted the news.



I will not be going to Florida because of the Shutdown - Staying in the White House! #MAGA — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2018

On Friday, Melania and their 12-year-old son, Barron, left the nation’s capital for Mar-a-Lago to keep the family's tradition of celebrating Christmas in Palm Beach alive.

It is not immediately clear if Barron will also be returning to Washington with his mother.

Trump was supposed to leave Friday for the 16-day vacation, but he announced that he would be staying at the White House as the Senate attempted to compromise on legislation to keep the government funded into the new year.

Earlier Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration canceled the temporary flight restrictions for airspace around Mar-a-Lago that had been put in place from Dec. 21-Jan. 6 in anticipation of the president’s trip.

Despite negotiations and a visit to Capitol Hill by top administration members including Vice President Mike Pence, Democrats and some Republicans could not get on board with legislation that included more than $5 billion for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

The government partially shutdown at midnight Friday, and more than 420,000 federal workers who are considered “essential” will now work without pay during the shutdown. Those employees will eventually receive pack pay. Another 380,000 government employees are be furloughed and home without pay.

On Saturday afternoon, Trump tweeted: "I am in the White House, working hard."

Critics were chiding Trump ahead of the trip to South Florida, where he would have stayed in a multimillion dollar resort as hundreds of thousands of federal employees are furloughed.

As of Saturday, it appears the shutdown will last at least for four more days. The Senate adjourned without a deal in place, and lawmakers aren’t slated to return for a regular session until Dec. 27.

It is unclear if a deal were to be reached at week’s end, if Trump would then fly down to Florida. Mar-a-Lago is known for throwing a lavish New Year’s Eve party, and the president attended it last year.

It is also unclear what other Trump family members are already down at Mar-a-Lago.

The blue, red, and gold Trump-branded jet was spotted by a reporter on the tarmac of Palm Beach International Airport on Friday.