Everyone knew that President Donald Trump was going to present some serious challenges to the way the United States government functions. One such challenge comes from how the Secret Service handles the strange logistics of protecting Trump and his family.
Apparently, that challenge is taking a serious toll on the group of highly trained security officials, as Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, told the New York Times in a recent interview:
“They are flat-out worn out.”
The ranking Democrat on the committee, Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), offered this analogy to how thinly-stretched the Secret Service is:
“It’s like being on a bike that you never get off of.”
The number of people that the Secret Service is protecting is part of the issue, but the main problems seem to be caused by some of the strange choices the Trump family has made. First Lady Melania Trump decided to stay in New York City, holed up inside Trump Tower with her 11-year-old son, Barron.
The cost and manpower to secure an extremely busy area of New York City is staggering. In addition, President Trump himself has spent the majority of his weekends in office at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida (at least seven already). Each of those trips reportedly costs taxpayers around $3 million, much of it in security and protection.
The high cost of this protection has cut back the agency’s ability to follow up on other issues of national security, such as criminal investigations and cybercrime.
The Washington Post reports that the Secret Service has already asked for an additional $60 million in funding for the next fiscal year, in anticipation of the heavy demand of the Trump family. About half of that would go to protection at Trump Tower. The Office of Management and Budget has refused.
Before becoming President, Trump routinely bashed former President Barack Obama for his frequent trips to the golf course. Now, it turns out Trump himself is wearing his own security detail dangerously thin with his poor decisions. Watch a recent PBS report on the strains the Trump family is putting on the Secret Service below:
Featured Image via YouTube screenshot.
