President Donald Trump ordered that his family receive the finest security available in the world for the next six months at no expense – the protection of the US Secret Service — just days before he left office.
Secret Service protection for Donald Trump’s adult children allegedly cost taxpayers $140,000 in the month after the clan’s patriarch departed the White House in January.
In addition, ABC News has discovered that Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, and former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin would be protected by the Secret Service when Trump’s tenure ends.
The Trumps’ Secret Service protection will be free, thanks to public funding, but paying a comparable amount for private security would have been a financial strain, even given the Trumps’ riches. According to a Forbes study of Trump family fortune published in 2019, Donald Trump’s children have accumulated much less money than their father. Ivanka Trump was by far the richest, with a combined net worth of $375 million with her husband, Jared Kushner. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump came in second and third, respectively, with estimated net worths of $25 million and $25 million, respectively, but Tiffany Trump didn’t seem to have much money. Donald Trump’s net worth was estimated to be $2.5 billion when he left office.
Trump issued an order, according to three individuals informed on the proposal, to extend post-presidency Secret Service protection to his four adult children and two of their wives, who were not automatically entitled to it.
When a president’s family leaves office, they usually lose their security detail.
It was unclear if Trump had given the instructions to prolong the protective measures. A Secret Service spokesman informed ABC News that the US Secret Service does not disclose protective operations or protectees as a matter of policy.
It’s not unheard of for a president to extend Secret Service security to family members, but Trump’s rumored decision to cover 13 members of his family is unprecedented. After leaving office, Trump’s three predecessors—Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton—extended protection for their daughters.
Security measures at Trump properties in New Jersey, Palm Beach, and Briarcliff, New York, are not included in the expenses acquired by the watchdog organization Citizens for Ethics. According to the organization, the number would be far greater if they were included.
By law, the former president and first lady are protected for the rest of their lives, and Barron Trump, the youngest son, will be protected until he is 16 years old.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, will continue to be protected by the Secret Service for the next six months under the same legislation.
According to the watchdog, the Trump children traveled at a “breakneck speed” and racked up substantial hotel and transportation expenses for the Secret Service. Transportation expenses alone were $52,296.75, and lodging charges were at least $88,678.39, according to the organization, and if the timetable is kept, post-presidency security costs may be over $1 million. The Trump family took 12 times as many travels in three years as the Obamas did in seven.
