Washington Elite Vacationed On the Cheap at Off-Limit Lodge
Once the vacation spot of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, the Binkerhoff Lodge in Gran Teton National Park was declared off limits to VIP guests. But in recent years, Washington’s elite have snuck back to the cabin and used it as a vacation home – for very affordable rates. Joe Biden stayed in August and former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson stayed in 2011, for example. “Under a policy adopted in 1992, after controversy over VIPs using the cabin for vacations, the National Park Service banned purely recreational activities by federal employees at the property, restricting its use to ‘official purposes,’” TIME Magazine reports. “But in recent years, the park service has interpreted that same rule so broadly as to again allow senior officials to take cheap vacations in Grand Teton with friends and family.” How cheap? When nearby homes rented for $1,000 a night, the Bidens stayed at the lodge for $250 a night. More…