Secret Service Director Randolph ‘Tex’ Alles has told USA TODAY over 1,100 of its agents have already hit the federally mandated caps for salary and overtime allowances for this year – in part due to the “sheer size of President Trump’s family”.
The Secret Service is required by law to protect Trump and his extended family – 42 people in total.
Launching his presidential campaign in 2015, Trump had promised to be a ‘stay-at-home’ leader. “I would rarely leave the White House because there’s so much work to be done,” the mogul said. “I would not be a president who took vacations.”
But the President has racked up the frequent flyer miles in his first seven months in office – and not always on business.
Business or pleasure?
He has taken seven trips to his famous resort in Mar-a-Lago, Florida; five to his golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey; and one to Trump Tower in Manhattan.
Each Florida trip is estimated to have cost over $3 million – with $60,000 in golf cart fees alone at his resorts.
Add in the security detail for his wife and children and it puts him on track to spend more on travel in his first year than Barack Obama did in eight years in office.
The Service is now looking to secure emergency legislation to increase the caps – or they may just hire more staff.
Well, Trump did promise more jobs.
