Democrats Move To Put The Hammer Down On Trump Abuse Of Secret Service Protection

Top House and Senate Democrats have requested an Inspector General investigation into the Trump family bankrupting the Secret Service by using them to guard multiple Trump private properties.

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U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-NM), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) and U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD), ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wrote, “There is reason to believe that President Trump and his family’s use of multiple non-governmental properties, such as Trump Tower in New York, the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., and the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., may interfere with the Secret Service’s ability to protect the First Family while remaining in compliance with the act.”

Under the Presidential Protection Assistance Act of 1976, the Secret Service can only use funds to protect one non-governmental presidential property. Trump already designated Trump Tower as his protected property, but the question is can the Secret Service remain in compliance with the law if Trump continues to require protection at multiple properties?

Legally, Trump shouldn’t be using the Secret Service to guard all of his private properties. The Secret Service is out of money for the year and can’t afford to pay agents for hours that they have already worked. Democrats want the investigation because they are laying the groundwork for a crackdown on Trump’s abuse of Secret Service protection. The Secret Service is there to protect the President. If Trump is staying at properties that aren’t his one designated non-governmental property than the Secret Service is being stretched too thin, and the properties agents have to oversee, the harder it becomes to protect the First Family.

If Democrats take back Congress, it is likely that they will take action to rein in Trump’s excessive personal travel on the taxpayers’ dime.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association