When the Trump Family Burdened the Taxpayers With Their Secret Service Bills

During his White House stint, former President Donald Trump exaggerated the burden on taxpayers. The Secret Service protected 42 members of Trump's family, a record number, thanks to his enthusiastic acceptance of the free protection he received. Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex" Alles exclusively told The USA Today, "The president has a large family, and our responsibility is required in law,'' Alles said. "I can't change that. I have no flexibility.'' The Trumps reportedly employed security to transport them between their various homes and international destinations for business and pleasure. The agents worked overtime and as a result, Congress increased their maximum salary from $160,000 to about $190,000.

"It is clear that the Secret Service's demands will continue to be higher than ever throughout the Trump administration,'' Jennifer Werner, a spokesperson for Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings said back then. "We cannot expect the Secret Service to be able to recruit and keep the best of the best if they are not being paid for these increases (in overtime hours)." Based on a General Accountability Office estimate for comparable travel by former President Obama, Trump's trips to Mar-a-Lago cost $3 million per time. The Secret Service hired golf carts alone for almost $60,000 to safeguard the Republican leader at Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster.  

Impressed with the service Trump told reporters in 2019, "Secret Service is fantastic," he said. "These are fantastic people. ... I would say I could not be happier with Secret Service. Secret Service has done a fantastic job from day one. Very happy with them." Eric Trump told Yahoo! Finance in October 2019 that taxpayers will save a tonne of money by holding the G-7 Summit at the Trump National Doral Miami in Florida. He asserted that the security charge alone would lead to a significant decrease in expenses. "If my father travels, [security staff] stay at our properties for free," Eric stated. "So everywhere that he goes, if he stays at one of his places, the government actually spends, meaning it saves a fortune because if they were to go to a hotel across the street, they'd be charging them $500 a night, whereas, you know we charge them, like $50," he added.

However, according to The Washington Post, agents were occasionally charged $1,185 per night for their hotel accommodations in Washington, DC, even though the standard rate was between $195 and $240. To safeguard Trump and his family, US taxpayers paid almost $1.4 million for federal employees to stay at Trump properties. Another Washington Post report suggests that Trump granted six months of protection to his four adult children and three former officials after he left the government, at $1.7 million. The four were safeguarded by the agents during their business travels abroad, weekend escapes, ski outings, and Mexican vacations. All of the protection bills were footed with taxpayers' money while the Trumps enjoyed their stay at the White House.