Vacationing Obama Plans Brief Return to Washington

President Barack Obama, who is on a two-week vacation to Massachusetts with his family, will return briefly to Washington for meetings, the White House said on Sunday.

Obama is scheduled to be back at the White House Sunday around 11 p.m. EDT (0300 UTC), USA Today reported.

While the White House did not say why Obama would need to attend unspecified meetings with Vice President Joe Biden and other advisers, The Associated Press reported that part of the decision appears aimed at countering criticism that Obama is spending two weeks on a resort island in the midst of so many foreign and domestic crises.

USA Today reported that the president is expected to have meetings at the White House on Monday and Tuesday, including national security sessions on the Iraq military operation.

Last week, Obama addressed the nation from Martha’s Vineyard regarding U.S. military action in Iraq and the clashes between police and protesters in Ferguson, Missouri.

He also called foreign leaders to discuss the tensions between Ukraine and Russia, the Ebola crisis in Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as between Israel and Hamas.

Obama is scheduled to return to Martha's Vineyard on Tuesday and stay through next weekend.