Obama visits wounded soldiers

The weekend’s historic blizzard in the nation’s capital didn’t stop President Obama on Monday from visiting with wounded military service members.

Obama flew on Marine One to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., avoiding Washington’s snow-clogged streets. The president typically takes his helicopter to the hospital, which is nine miles north of the White House.

{mosads}“I shoveled all of this stuff,” Obama joked to reporters on the South Lawn, which was cleared of snow, before departing.

The president’s meeting with the soldiers, which lasted about 34 minutes, was private and closed to the press.

The White House said Obama met with three service members — two Army and one Navy — and their families, but did not release their names. 

The rest of the region was virtually shut down on Monday as residents continued to dig out from the storm. The federal, state and city governments were closed across the region and school systems shut their doors as well.

At the White House, the daily press briefing was canceled.

The storm dumped nearly two feet of snow on the District of Columbia Friday and Saturday; it’s thought to be the biggest snowstorm in the area since 1922.

— This report was last updated at 4:05 p.m.