Secret Service Budget Strained with Increased Workload

Secret Service sniper atop White House roof. Image-Secret Service
Secret Service sniper atop White House roof. Image-Secret Service

According to the director of the Secret Service, Randolph “Tex” Alles, because of the president’s large family size, multiple homes and frequent trips to golf courses and Trump’s resort homes, more than a thousand Secret Service agents have maxed out their pay and overtime allowances, and many of those will not be fully compensated for their work.

According to the director, 18 members of Trump’s family require protection and their frequent travel for both family business and vacations that take them around the globe have drained the coffers of the money allocated for the first year in just 7 months.

According to the Secret Service, Trump’s visits cost an estimated $3 million for each visit he makes to his resort in Mar-a-Lago, with over $60,000 spent on golf cart rentals at Trump’s Florida resort and golf resort in Bedminster. The cost to the agency’s budget has been over $20 million thus far for visits to Florida alone.

Trump’s daughter, Ivanka and her husband, required a detail to Aspen for a skiing vacation, and Trump’s youngest daughter also required details for vacations to Germany and Hungary.

Trump’s sons also had to have details as they traveled to destinations such as Vancouver, British Columbia and Dubai as they went to those locations to open a Trump Tower in Canada and a golf course in Dubai.

Another example is Trump son Eric, he traveled to Uruguay on Trump family business, costing the agency’s budget over $100,000 for hotel lodging for agents in hotel rooms alone.

Another added cost was Trump’s wife Melania and his son’s stay in the New York Trump Tower for the first months of Trump’s presidency. A full detail was required there, and the service must keep up a regular detail there even when no one is there.

See also  This Day in Alaska History-March 27th, 1964

Alles reports that overwork and frequent travel has had an impact, with many leaving the service. In order to prevent the exodus, the director has begun discussions to raise the salary/overtime pay for agents from $160,000 to $187,000. This raise will still not help over 130 agents who have reached that cap already.

The White House says that Trump “is committed to ensuring the Secret Service and all of those protecting our country have all the resources they need. We are going to continue to work with Congress on this important issue, which requires their actions.”

Trump, on the campaign trail ridiculed and criticized former President Obama for the costs incurred for trips taken during his eight years in the White House, but, at the present rate, he will have cost the agency more in the first year, than Obama cost the agency in his full eight years in office.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]