WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump once questioned the wisdom of taking vacations. “What’s the point?” he asked.

But now the president is getting ready to join the annual August exodus from the city he calls “the swamp.” Trump is due Friday to begin his first extended vacation from Washington since the inauguration: 17 days at his private golf club in central New Jersey.

The vacation could be driven in part by necessity. Everyone who works in the White House West Wing, including the Oval Office occupant himself, must clear out by the end of the week so that the government can replace a balky, 27-year-old heating and cooling system.

The White House hasn’t been entertaining questions about the president’s August plans. Asked whether Trump would leave Washington this month, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday: “We’ll continue to keep you guys updated on his August schedule as those details are finalized.”