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- Since 2017, the Secret Service has racked up $1.1 million in fees to stay at Trump properties, according to an updated tally from the Washington Post.
- A new batch of $188,000 in fees were released by the Secret Service as part of a public records lawsuit from the Post.
- Even though Trump never stopped by one of his golf clubs when it was shut down amid coronavirus restrictions in New Jersey, the Secret Service still got hit with a $21,800 charge for a cottage rental and other room fees.
- The usual rate for agents to stay at a Trump property — even when there’s no indication he will stop by — is $567 per night, according to the Post. That’s a far cry from the mere “50 bucks” Eric Trump claimed the agents are billed.
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The total amount of fees paid by the Secret Service to President Donald Trump’s properties has exceeded $1 million since he took office, according to an updated tally from the Washington Post.
An additional set of $188,000 in fees were released by the Secret Service as part of a public records lawsuit from the Post, bringing the total in taxpayer spending on security at Trump properties to $1.1 million since 2017.
Post reporter David Fahrenthold has been tracking how Trump has been able to personally profit off of his presidency and campaigning since the 2016 election, piecing together ways taxpayer money ends up in the coffers of the Trump Organization.
Fees incurred by Secret Service agents staying at Trump properties — whether he’s there or not — have mounted over the 274 visits the president has made during his first term, according to the Post.
Even when Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J. was closed up earlier in the coronavirus pandemic, the documents obtained in the lawsuit show the Secret Service still got hit with a $21,800 charge for a cottage rental and other room fees.
Trump did not visit the Bedminister club while it was shuttered, but Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner did reportedly stop by for the first night of Passover, despite coronavirus restrictions at the time from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.
The whole reason for the lawsuit stems from a pattern of the Trump White House failing to disclose these Secret Service fees.
The usual rate for agents to stay at a Trump property — even when there's no indication he will stop by — is $567 per night, according to the Post.
That's a far cry from the mere "50 bucks" per room Eric Trump claimed the taxpayers dish out when defending the practice back in October 2016.