Obama plans to stay in Washington, D.C., for a while

MILWAUKEE — Over lunch with a small group, President Barack Obama said yesterday he plans to stay in Washington for a couple of years after his presidency so that his younger daughter can finish high school.

It has long been speculated that the first family might stay in Washington after Obama leaves the White House. The president made it sound as if it were a done deal.

Obama was having lunch with four women and a man, all of whom had written him letters about the Affordable Care Act, at Engine Company No. 3, a restaurant in Milwaukee. They talked about the weather and the Midwest.

“It always feels good being closer to home,” Obama said.

One of the women asked about Hawaii, where he was born. “Hawaii is home for me,” he replied, but suggested that his real home is Chicago. “I spent almost 30 years in Chicago,” he said, noting it was also Michelle Obama’s hometown.

Someone at the table then asked where he and the first lady would live after he was done with the presidency.

“We haven’t figured that out yet,” he said. “We’re going to have to stay a couple of years so Sasha can finish” school, he said. “Transferring someone in the middle of high school — tough.”

Sasha will be a high school sophomore at Sidwell Friends School at the end of the president’s second term, giving the family a couple years to enjoy, or endure, Washington as private citizens.

— The Washington Post