Trump's Unusual Extension of Kids' Secret Service Detail Has Cost at Least $140K: Report


Donal Trump

Donald Trump's unusual decision to extend Secret Service protection for his four adult children — Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump — and their families has cost the federal government tens of thousands of dollars since he left office in January, according to a watchdog group.

A new report by the nonprofit Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) shows the Secret Service spent at least $140,000 in President Trump's first month out of office to protect him and members of his family.

"That figure, however, does not include charges at Trump properties in Bedminster, Palm Beach and Briarcliff, New York, which would likely bring the actual total much higher," the report says.

Just before leaving the White House after losing re-election, Trump, 74, ordered a temporary extension for his children.

Former presidents and first ladies receive lifetime Secret Service protection, and it isn't unusual for their younger children to also be granted temporary security details.

For example, former President Barack Obama's daughters received extended protection after he left office because they were still teenagers, while former President Bill Clinton's daughter Chelsea Clinton was 20 years old and in college when she received an extension.

However, Trump's decision to continue the protection drew criticism from those who had long argued he used his presidential role to show favoritism to his family and — in those cases where the Secret Service was traveling to his own properties — enrich his businesses.

CREW said the full sixth-month figure is "likely to be quite costly," estimating it could reach about $1 million.

A Secret Service source told PEOPLE in January that Trump issued the last-minute, six-month extension as a "transition period" for his adult children.

President Joe Biden would need to approve a further extension after that, the Secret Service source said then.

CREW's new report came from a freedom of information request filed with the Secret Service in February.

Overall, the records show the Secret Service spent roughly $52,300 on transportation and nearly $89,000 on hotel costs while following around Trump's adult children in his first 30 days since leaving office.

Numbers show the Secret Service — who must maintain proximity to protectees — spent $62,600 in late January to provide protection for Trump's oldest daughter Ivanka, 39, and her husband Jared Kushner, 40, during a 10-day trip with their kids to Salt Lake City.

The trip began Jan. 21, the day after Biden's inauguration, which the Trump family did not attend, and ended on Jan. 31.

The available receipts show the Secret Service then followed Ivanka and Kushner back to their home in Miami through at least the end of February. (The agency did not say how much money was spent protecting Ivanka and Kushner during that time.)

The report also states the Secret Service provided continued protection for Trump's middle son, Eric, 37, and his wife Lara Trump, 38, across multiple trips up and down the East Coast.

The couple routinely traveled across New York — to Briarcliff Manor, Queens, White Plains and Lake Placid. The couple was also granted protection for trips to Danbury, Connecticut, and Newark, New Jersey.

However, the Secret Service did not detail how much they spent to protect Eric, Lara and the couple's kids during that time.

The agency did spend $10,250 while accompanying Eric and Lara in Palm Beach, Florida, from Feb. 11 through Feb. 14. Palm Beach is where Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump live with their teenage son, Barron, at their private Mar-a-Lago Club.

Secret Service records show protection for Trump's youngest daughter Tiffany, 27, in Miami during the first month after her father left the White House.

Records also show Don Jr., the former president's oldest son, was given Secret Service protection during multiple trips to New York state and New York City in January and February. That includes a nearly $9,000 charge for protection during a six-day trip to Palm Beach from Feb. 11 through Feb. 16.

President Trump himself has not traveled from Florida since leaving office, outside of one trip to New York City in mid-March.

Source