Wax figures of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were on hand for the annual Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival parade on Saturday.
The event had been in jeopardy until Obama signed a short-term funding extension that will keep the government running until Friday, April 15.
Majority Leader Harry Reid lamented on Friday that a government shutdown would hurt the Cherry Blossom Festival: “People plan to come here all year, and one of the things they want to do when they come here is take a walk down the Mall, go to the National Art Gallery, go to one of the great Smithsonian museums. They’ll all close at 12:00 tonight.”
Negotiators capped days of closed-door talks to agree on a framework for a $38.5 billion package that will cut spending for the rest of the fiscal year, that ends September 30. It is expected that the agreement will be passed by both houses and be signed into law by mid-week.
During his Saturday morning address, Obama said: “This is an agreement to invest in our country’s future while making the largest annual spending cut in our history.”
Check out his entire speech below:
Photo: WENN