President Trump and his family exit Air Force One on Jan. 5 following a trip to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Kevin Wolf / AP
Top Democrat Asks Secret Service How Much It Has Spent Protecting the Trump Family on Trips
Request comes in preparation for the fiscal 2021 budget process.
The top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee is inquiring how much taxpayers have spent on Secret Service protection for President Trump and his family while they are traveling.
In preparation for the Secret Service’s upcoming budget request, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, wrote to Secret Service Director James Murray on Wednesday. He asked for the dates, purposes and expenses for all of the president and his family’s domestic and international trips since January 2017. Thomspson also requested that the agency specify which expenses were incurred at Trump properties.
“The large number of protectees in the Trump family and their frequent travel has already strained the Secret Service’s budget, making it important that this committee fully understand the resources request of the Secret Service to protect the first family,” Thompson wrote. “In order to assess the agency’s forthcoming fiscal year 2021 budget request, I am seeking information on the expenses your office has incurred to support the travel of President Trump and his family throughout his time in office.”
Thompson cited a January 2019 Government Accountability Office report that found from February to March 2017, the Secret Service spent about $1.6 million on the president’s trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort and an additional $390,000 to protect the president’s children and their spouses on international trips. Thompson said GAO’s studies have only “focused on a select number of individual trips,” so he would like broader information about how taxpayer dollars are spent.
Since Trump took office, taxpayer spending on golf carts, flights to political rallies, luxury resorts, stays at Trump properties and more has been under scrutiny.
The president is expected to submit his fiscal 2021 budget proposal to Congress on Feb. 10. Thompson asked the Secret Service to provide the information to the committee by Feb. 3.