It’s a nice deal for a former president who is also a landlord. Not only do you receive Secret Service protection for life, you could also charge the agents guarding you whatever you want for a room at your properties.
On Thursday, The Washington Post revealed that the Secret Service paid $10,200 to Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J. for a roughly three-week stay in May. Since Trump left office, the agency has paid more than $50,000 to Trump-owned properties. The Post says the bills are still accruing, although exact dollar figures are unknown.
The Secret Service bill obtained by the newspaper is not itemized, but it’s consistent with other invoices from the Bedminster property while Trump was in office: $566.64 per night for a four-bedroom “cottage.” A separate bill for $3,400 covers Secret Service charges at the property prior to Trump’s recent seasonal move there.
The Post provides context:
Legal experts have said there are no laws to prohibit Trump’s company from charging the Secret Service rent at his properties, either during or after his presidency. The rate is effectively up to him: By law, the Secret Service can pay whatever it must to rent rooms near its protectees for use as command posts and meeting rooms.
In all, Trump’s company charged the government more than $2.5 million during his presidency, according to a Post analysis of federal spending records.
“He obviously should have Secret Service protection,” Jordan Libowitz, the Communications Director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told the Post. “However, there’s no reason that his company should not do the patriotic thing, and just comp the government for the security it is providing him.”