![Secret Service for Obama, Busch stadium July 14, 2009. / [Image by Barbara Moore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/9/20/660x290/b_502x220x82/secret-service-for-obama-busch-stadium-july-14-2009-image-by-barbara-moore-via-flickr-cc-by-sa-20_1582989.jpg "Secret Service for Obama, Busch stadium July 14, 2009. / [Image by Barbara Moore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0]")
The General Assembly event at the United Nations building in New York is said to be the equivalent of the "Superbowl" for the Secret Service, as diplomats and their security personnel all descend there every year. Such was the case this week, with President Trump making his controversial speech on Tuesday. But the Secret Service has already been having financial issues with protecting the President and his family, with agents already hitting their caps for overtime within recent months.
Financing physical protection, legal defense
Many reports have said that some agents are even having to volunteer their time.
The main drain on the finances are with the size of the President's family as well as where the agents have to stay in order to provide that protection. The financial impact was already apparent in March, when the agency submitted a budget proposal request for the rest of the year. At the time, the reports were that their budget request had been turned down by the director of the Budget Office, Mick Mulvaney. But he denied this at the time, saying that they would provide that funding.
The New York Times reported in an article this week titled: "Donald Trump Jr. Gives Up Secret Service Protection, Seeking Privacy," that the reason the President's eldest son was giving up his own Secret Service protection was because he wanted more control of his privacy.
The report said that the NY Times did not get a response for comment from the agency or Don Jr about the decision. But it cannot be ignored that the decision was made during a period of financial instability.
It should also be noted that Trump's Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has removed a ban to allow anonymous payments to come through in order to pay for Trump's family members and associates mounting legal fees, which are said to be an average of $1,000 per hour.
This should be a clear indication of either the financial trouble that the administration has found itself in or their reluctance to use their own money to pay for their legal and physical protection.
Funding Secret Service pending
In the mentioned budget proposal, the Secret Service detailed that they wanted funding to build infrastructure at Trump Tower and likely other locations where they would have to stay close to the Trump family.
At the time of their request, the President's wife Melania and his son, Barron, were residing there. The Secret Service proposal also required additional money to rent out the floors below the Trump penthouse where agents could stay and build infrastructure.
But the Trump Organization ended up having a disagreement with the agency which had to move out of the tower. It was said at the time that the disagreement was over the lease and opined that they could not pay full-price. The agency's director has gone to Congress to request more funding and lawmakers have said that they would provide it, but, as of this writing, nothing has been submitted.
