The high costs to protect President Donald Trump, his big family, and several properties drove the Secret Service into an unprecedented financial crisis, reports USA Today. According to the publication, the Secret Service Director Randolph Alles said that more than one thousand agents have already reached their wage and overtime limits for one year, due to the intensive workload to which they have been subjected to since January.
Among the obligations of the agency is the protection of the President, his sons and daughters, the First Lady, and other family members, even when they are traveling abroad for business or leisure.
In total, 42 people have the protection of the Secret Service, including 18 family members. According to the newspaper, such figure is far higher than the one registered during the Obama years, when 31 people had the right to be protected by the Secret Service.
Intensive traveling schedule
Secret Service agents have followed the President in all his trips. Mr. Trump has traveled almost all weekends, since his inauguration, to his resorts and golf clubs, especially the Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he even welcomed Heads Of State, such as Chinese President Xi Jinping. “Our responsibility is required in law. I can’t change that, I have no flexibility,” said Randolph Alles.
The crushing workload has also led some agents to leave their jobs.
The agency has not yet ensured support from Congress for additional funds, and some agents with a high volume of overtime didn’t receive for what they have already worked. Mr. Alles is meeting with some Congressmen in order to raise the limit of the combined yearly salary and overtime cap from the current $160.000 to $187.000, so the agents can receive all that is owed them.
High costs during trips
It is estimated that President Trump’s weekend trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida cost the taxpayer $3 million each. Still according to USA Today, only on golf carts rentals, the agency has already spent $60.000. The newspaper also informed that a trip by Eric Trump to Uruguay cost close to $100.000 in hotel rooms for the agents.
United Nations General Assembly
Without any additional move by Congress, the Secret Service will be constrained in order to perform one of the most important duties of the year, the United Nations General Assembly. The gathering in New York is expected to be attended by 150 international heads of state, who will be accompanied by several officials. All that requires the deployment of a great contingent of agents. As the event approaches, Congress is being urged to approve immediate relief for the agency.
