According to an interview with Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles in USA Today, the Secret Service is out of cash. Apparently, Trump’s large family and unwillingness to give up his pre-presidential lifestyle means that “more than 1,000 agents have already hit the federally mandated caps for salary and overtime allowances that were meant to last the entire year.”
The Secret Service is required by law to protect Trump’s entire family, which has resulted in an “unprecedented” number of protectees, according to Alles. 42 people in total have protection (18 of which are family members), up from 31 under Obama. And those 31 people weren’t taking “VIP” business trips that cost the Secret Service $100,000 for hotel rooms alone like Eric Trump has famously done. $100,000 that went, by the way, to a hotel bearing the family name. Both Eric and Donny Jr. have traveled abroad to open new Trump hotels and golf clubs. Meaning taxpayers are essentially funding the expansion of the Trump brand.
The same goes for those regular trips to Mar-a-Lago and Trump’s Bedminster golf club. Each one of those costs about $3 million at properties owned by Trump. The Secret Service has had to pay Trump $60,000 to rent golf carts to protect him at his own properties. Earlier this month, the Secret Service had to leave their post in Trump Tower, where the First Lady was still living, after a dispute over their lease. It certainly feels like Trump doesn’t do anything without making sure the Trump Organization will make money off of it. To everyone who thought it would be a neat idea to let a businessman run the country, congratulations. This is what that looks like.
People are not happy.
The president who wants to eliminate heating aid for low-income Americans has no qualms about overspending the Secret Service budget. Sad. pic.twitter.com/egBNccbKu8
— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) August 21, 2017
When a person known for filing for bankruptcies & bankrupting companies eventually bankrupts the Secret Service, they are bad for business.
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) August 21, 2017
For those of you struggling to make rent this month, #Trump has made Secret Service rent golfcarts to the tune of $63,000-AT HIS OWN RESORTS
— Fiona Adorno? (@FionaAdorno) August 21, 2017
Although the GOP and media conservatives are oddly silent.
What happened to all that Right Wing anger about the costs of Presidential travel? https://t.co/GL6pND9RM0
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) August 21, 2017
Imagine the outrage on the far right if the Secret Service ran out of money protecting the Obamas or the Clintons
— Mike Levin (@MikeLevin) August 21, 2017
Imagine the Fox News freak out if President Obama had bankrupted the secret service due to golf outings.
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) August 21, 2017
According to the USA Today interview, about a third of Secret Service agents have already reached their limit for compensation & overtime. Congress is discussing increasing the overtime cap for the agency, but even if that happens, about 130 agents still won’t be compensated for the overtime they’ve already worked. Alles pointed out the obvious by saying “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).”
No, I don’t think we can expect the best of the best to want to do this particular job.
(via USA Today, image: )
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