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Summary: A new report claims that the Secret Service has spent its entire yearly budget in a few months on the Trump’s family’s frequent vacations.
In seven months, the Secret Service maxed out its budget due to Trump family traveling, according to a new report. Because of the lack of funds, the Secret Service can no longer pay hundreds of agents to carry out missions, according to USA Today.
The report stated that the Secret Service lacked funds largely due to protecting President Donald Trump and his family’s domestic and international business trips, personal vacations, and presidential travels. The Secret Service is required to watch members such as Melania Trump and Tiffany Trump at the family’s multiple residences, including homes in New Jersey, Florida, and Virginia.
“It is clear that the Secret Service’s demands will continue to be higher than ever throughout the Trump administration,” Jennifer Werner, a spokesperson for Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, said to USA Today. Cummings, a Democrat, has publicly expressed that the Secret Service’s funding problem needs to be fixed.
Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles, said to USA Today that over 1,000 agents have already met the year’s federally mandated caps for salary and overtime allowances in a few months. Trump has 42 people who are required to be protected, and that includes 18 members of his family.
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“The president has a large family, and our responsibility is required in law,” Alles said. “I can’t change that. I have no flexibility.”
Since taking office in January, Trump has traveled to his properties almost every weekend, and each trip costs approximately $3 million.
Alles said that without congressional intervention to add funding, the Secret Secret will not be able to pay its employees for work they have already done. Alles is asking lawmakers to raise the yearly cap for agents from $160,000 to $187,000 because of Trump, but even this number is not high enough to compensates 130 agents for the hundreds of extra hours they have worked.
In April, CNN reported that Trump’s frequent travels during his first 80 days had cost the government more than what predecessor Barack Obama’s travel spending was in two terms.
While the Trump family is proving to be costly, Alles told CNN that the Secret Service funding problem has been going on prior to Trump.
“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,” Alles said.
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