Trump businesses billed Secret Service over $1.1M

Trump's properties have billed the government agency over a million dollars since he took office

Sep 18, 2020

A new report has confirmed that since he took office, the total amount of fees paid by the Secret Service to President Donald Trump‘s properties has exceeded a whopping $1M.

According to an updated tally from The Washington Post, that figure includes an additional $188K in fees released by the Secret Service as part of a public records lawsuit from the Post. This brings Trump’s total in taxpayer spending on security for his properties to $1.1M.

Post reporter David Fahrenthold did the legwork to track just how much Trump has been able to personally benefit from his campaign and presidency since the 2016 election. Through his research, Fahrenthold pieced together ways that taxpayer money ended up in the cashbox of the Trump Organization.

President Trump Holds A Press Briefing At The White House — A U.S. Secret Service agent tells U.S. President Donald Trump to leave the briefing room after shots were reported fired near the White House on August 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump briefly stopped his news conference but returned after the all-clear was issued. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

What many have found egregious is that these fees are being incurred by Secret Service agents staying at Trump properties – even when the president isn’t there himself or in need of direct protection.

Documents obtained in the lawsuit show that when the president’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey was closed earlier in the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Secret Service still got slammed with a $21,800 charge for a cottage rental and other room fees.

Adding insult to injury is that despite coronavirus restrictions at the time from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy – Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner reportedly stopped by the property for the first night of Passover. President Trump never once visited the Bedminister club while it was shuttered.

According to the Post, the usual rate for agents to stay at a Trump property is $567 per night whether he’s present or not. The outlet says the administration’s unwillingness to disclose the Secret Service fees is what sparked their lawsuit to begin with.