President Trump spent about 50 percent of his time from Monday to Thursday last week in “Executive Time,” according to a new batch of leaked private schedules obtained by Axios.
The news outlet notes that the latest leak comes only a couple days after it was reported that the administration had opened an internal investigation into who leaked the first slate of private presidential schedules.
{mosads}The schedules obtained by Axios include details about a range of things, and they show that Trump spent the first three hours of his day in “Executive Time” from Monday through Wednesday last week.
Trump is reported to be watching television, reading newspapers and making phone calls to aides, lawmakers, friends, advisers and administration officials during those allotted hours.
Axios, citing months worth of schedules, reported last week that Trump had spent 60 percent of his working hours in “Executive Time” since the midterm elections. A source told the news outlet that Trump typically spends the first five hours of his day in his residency.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
Axios notes that the schedules do not present a complete portrayal of the Trump’s day-to-day life. He has a more detailed schedule that is not sent out to senior staff.
Trump on Sunday defended his use of “Executive Time,” saying that he is “generally working” during those hours and not “relaxing.”
“In fact, I probably work more hours than almost any past President,” Trump wrote in a tweet.
He also said that he “had no choice but to work very long hours” because of the state of the country when he took office. He did not dispute the report’s accuracy.
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledged Sunday that the administration had opened an internal probe into the source of the schedules.
“It’s not the content,” Mulvaney said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It’s the fact that someone within the White House spent three months collecting this information, which is really, really hard to do.”