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Biden cancels annual summer beach party

Vice President Joe Biden will not be throwing his annual beach party for journalists this summer, POLITICO has learned.

Since 2010, Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden have invited top journalists to their home at the Naval Observatory for a beach bash that has included Super Soaker fights, face painting, and a moon bounce.

Past guests have included then-White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Candy Crowley, MSNBC's Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow, CBS's Bob Schieffer, ABC's Ann Compton, PBS's Gwen Ifill and New York Times reporter David Sanger, among many others.

(PHOTOS: Joe Biden’s 2012 beach bash)

The Vice President's office declined to comment on the record regarding the decision to forego a party this summer.

In March, The White House announced that it would temporarily suspend official White House tours "due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration," but it is unclear if the Vice President's party was cancelled for similar reasons.

Despite recurring debate over the ethics of hobnobbing with government officials, the vice presidential party has been a fixture in Washington. Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper used to throw a Halloween party for journalists and staffers and Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne occasionally invited journalists to cocktail parties.

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