White House to cease tours on March 9th due to budget cuts

(CNN) — Visitors to Washington D.C. hoping to take a tour of the White House will soon be out of luck. The White House Visitor Center has canceled all tours effective Saturday March 9, a move meant to cut costs in the wake of forced spending cuts that hit the entire federal government last Friday.

An automated message at the visitor center’s hotline informed callers of the news on Tuesday.

“Due to staffing reductions resulting from sequestration we regret to inform that White House tours will be canceled effective Saturday, March 9, 2013 until further notice,” the message said. “Unfortunately we will not be able to reschedule affected tours.”

Public, self-guided tours of the White House’s East Wing are generally offered Tuesday through Saturday. Visitors can get tickets from their representative in Congress, and if they’re lucky, they may even run into the president or first lady, who’ve both been known to personally greet visitors on occasion.