White House official says that in a show of solidarity with furloughed U.S. federal employees, President Barack Obama will return 5 percent of his salary to the government.
The official Wednesday said the president decided to share in the sacrifice public employees are making because of the automatic spending cuts called the sequester.
Mr. Obama makes $400,000 a year. Five percent of his salary, going back to March 1, when the sequester started, would be about $1,700 per month.
Tuesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his deputy, Ashton Carter, both said they will refund part of their salaries.