The Secret Service Is Running Out of Money to Pay Agents Thanks to Trump and His Family | lovebscott.com

The Secret Service Is Running Out of Money to Pay Agents Thanks to Trump and His Family

The Secret Service funds are low, thanks to Donald Trump’s many trips, multiple residences and large family.

The agency has already hit its limits for agent salaries and overtime after just a few months.

via NYDN:

Secret Service Director Randolph (Tex) Alles told USA Today that Trump’s family has blown through a budget for more than 1,000 agents that was supposed to last for the rest of 2017.

The First Family has overwhelmed the agency with its constant trips across the country — and its extravagant lifestyle, Alles said. The Secret Service has spent about $60,000 alone just to rent golf carts to follow Trump around his courses in New Jersey and Florida.

Alles said the Trump presidency has called for unprecedented protection. Trump requires 42 people to have Secret Service protection, including 18 members of his family. Former President Barack Obama, by comparison, needed protection for 31 people through his two terms.

Trump’s family has also been exhausting the agency’s resources by its constant travels across the nation and the globe. Trump has traveled to one of his properties nearly every weekend of his presidency, spending about a quarter of the days from his short presidency away from the White House. Each of those weekend getaways is estimated to cost up to $3 million for travel and protection.

The Secret Service has also had to follow all of Trump’s children during their trips abroad for vacation or promotion for the Trump Organization and related businesses. Agents have in some instances paid tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump properties to protect the children during business trips there.

Alles said he is hoping lawmakers will boost the combined salaries and overtime for agents — from $160,000 a year to $187,000 — to help cover the rest of Trump’s first term.

After this report went public, Alles came out with a follow-up statement clarifying that Trump can’t be directly blamed for depleting the Secret Service budget

“This issue is not one that can be attributed to the current Administration’s protection requirements, but rather has been an ongoing issue for nearly a decade due to an overall increase in operational tempo,” he said.

…we all know it’s partially Trump’s fault.

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