Trump holds off on planned departure to Mar-a-Lago ahead of possible government shutdown

President-elect Donald Trump, with his wife, Melania, answers questions from reporters at a New Year's Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2016. (Don Emmert)

With a possible federal shutdown looming, President Trump has delayed plans to head to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where a lavish celebration of his first year in office is in the works for Saturday night.

The president, who was scheduled to depart late Friday afternoon, will probably stay in Washington until a stopgap funding measure is passed by Congress and signed by him, according to a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak more candidly.

The White House later officially announced that Trump's planned 4:30 p.m. departure on Friday had been canceled but did not offer guidance on the rest of the weekend.

Late Friday afternoon, Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters at the White House that he doesn't expect Trump to fly out on Saturday.

A short-term spending bill failed during a procedural vote in the Senate late on Jan. 19, taking the government closer to a shutdown. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde, Jordan Frasier/The Washington Post, Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

"I think the president's been very clear," Mulvaney said. "He's not leaving until this is finished."

After a White House advisory circulated late Thursday night that included Trump's planned trip, Democrats started seizing on the optics, accusing the president of abdicating his responsibilities as Congress scrambles to meet a midnight deadline to avoid a shutdown.

"Trump going to Mar-a-Lago while government shutdown looms is most irresponsible, self-absorbed, dereliction of duty ever by a President," Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) tweeted.

Matt House, the communications director for Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), questioned on Twitter why Trump would be "wheels up at 4:30" when lawmakers are still waiting for him to "articulate what he's for" in a spending deal.

The scheduled gathering in Palm Beach on Saturday night is meant to mark the first anniversary of Trump's inauguration, with tickets starting at $100,000 a pair, according to a Bloomberg report. Ronna Romney McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, and the casino mogul Steve Wynn, are hosting.

Trump, meanwhile, took to Twitter early Friday to praise the Republican-led House for passing a stopgap measure on Thursday night and urge the Senate to follow suit. Unlike in the House, Democratic votes will be needed for passage.

"Government Funding Bill past last night in the House of Representatives," Trump wrote. "Now Democrats are needed if it is to pass in the Senate — but they want illegal immigration and weak borders. Shutdown coming? We need more Republican victories in 2018!"