Trump Figures Out a Way to Blow Millions in Taxpayer Funds Even as an Ex-President

As Joe Biden was sworn in as president of the United States on Wednesday, the nation—nay, the world—heaved a great sigh of relief. Though the country remains in the throws of numerous crises, we were finally rid of the unhinged, coup-inciting lunatic who’s terrorized millions of people for the last four years. Also probably feeling as though a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s Secret Service detail, who we learned earlier this month were forced to work under outrageous conditions wherein they had to run around town desperately looking for a toilet when nature called because the couple wouldn’t let the people protecting them use any one of the six and a half bathrooms in their Kalorama home. Unfortunately, though, it turns out that Javanka’s plumbing reign of terror may not have ended when Donald Trump stopped being president.

The Washington Post reports that in his last days in office, Trump “issued a directive” extending Secret Service protection to 14 of his family members who would not automatically receive it after his departure. While federal law allows Trump, Melania, and their 14-year-old son, Barron, to continue to receive full-time protection, it did not cover his other children and their families. But Trump wanted everyone to be covered and ordered an extra six months of taxpayer-funded 24-hour security for Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and their three children; Donald Trump Jr. and his five kids; and Eric Trump, Lara Trump, and Tiffany Trump.

A president can order Secret Service protection for any person he choses, but it is highly unusual for a president to provide 24-hour security to such a large number of family members, including so many grown adults…. The perk for the Trump family is expected to cost taxpayers millions of dollars and further stress the elite federal security force, which in the past four years had to staff the largest number ever of full-time security details—up to 42 at one point, according to former senior administration officials.

The Trump family’s protection has been costly for the Secret Service’s budget, as his adult children traveled widely across the country and around the world for personal vacations and travel related to the Trump Organization, the family company. From 2017 to 2019, government records show, Trump family members took more than 4,500 trips that required Secret Service to travel alongside them, costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

Anyway, hopefully Ivanka and Jared can find it in their hearts to allow the agents continuing to protect them to use one of their bathrooms wherever they end up living, which would be both the right thing to do from a basic human standpoint and also avoid taxpayers having to shell out an extra $3,000 a month for use of a toilet. Or not! The Trump Family Grift remains strong.

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