12/11/2023 0 Comments Trump travel expenses so farFor just one month in 2017, Trump’s travel costs totaled $13.6 million, including expenditures by the Secret Service, the Department of Defense, and the cost of renting space and equipment. The Secret Service has also had to put taxpayer money directly into Trump’s pocket, spending at least $250,000 at Trump properties in the first five months of his term. Just renting enough golf carts to follow the president - without hampering his ability to cheat on the green - has cost $588,000 since 2017, according to federal spending data available online. In his first four trips to Mar-a-Lago in 2017, the Secret Service alone spent about $1.3 million on each visit. Full records of Secret Service spending are unavailable, but individual costs detailed over the years offer a glimpse of how much the agency is spending to protect our leisurely president - and why the administration might not want the details publicized in an election year. Though Trump promised during the campaign that he would “rarely leave the White House,” he has spent 114 days at his home in Mar-a-Lago and 75 days at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey. Mnuchin is reportedly onboard for the reporting of travel expenses, but only if the practice begins in 2021. As part of the proposed bill, Democrats would require that the Secret Service release how much it costs to protect Trump family travel within 120 days of its passage. The attempt to delay the release involves a bill drafted in part by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin bringing the Secret Service under his department’s purview, where it was housed from its foundation in 1865 until 2003, when the agency was enveloped by the Department of Homeland Security. According to the Washington Post, the administration is attempting to delay House Democrats’ efforts to reveal the Secret Service budget until after the 2020 election, in part so that voters do not learn how much they are spending on Trump trips. Though the president’s displays of ostentatious wealth didn’t hurt his electoral prospects last time around, the administration is reportedly worried about the public response if voters learn just how much taxpayers are putting up for Trump family vacations and travel.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |