Howmuch Was Spent on Obama and Family Vacations
Terminal financial twelvemonth, the Trump family took more trips that required Secret Service protection than the Obama family took in 7, according to a upkeep document released by the Treasury Section. On average, Obama'south family took 133.iii protected trips per yr, while the Trump family has taken an average of 1,625 annually. Much of the Trump family'southward known travel has been to promote Trump System businesses, which President Trump still owns and profits from. Every President and his family deserve Cloak-and-dagger Service protection. But the President's private business should reimburse taxpayers for coin spent at Trump's businesses or in back up of them.
While previous presidents have separated themselves from their avails and placed them in a blind trust, President Trump appointed his two adult sons to manage the international businesses that keep to brand hundreds of millions of dollars a year on his behalf . The Trump family unit'due south extremely high number of protected trips tin be partially explained by the fact that Eric and Don Jr. have traveled the world promoting Trump-branded businesses throughout the Trump presidency. This explanation does less to settle concerns than to highlight the extent to which the American people are subsidizing the Trump family unit business. Despite running up a high tab, the Trump Organization has non paid the American people back for the security taxpayers have subsidized when Trump family unit members travel to support a business that regularly cashes in on the presidency.
Of course the Trump family is entitled to Clandestine Service protection, and should be protected, simply increasing the book by more than a factor of ten has put a strain on the agency's budget. So much so, that the Surreptitious Service has had to justify the spike in protective travel costs in its congressional budget requests for the past 2 years . That appears to be the simply reason the number of protected visits has been made public at all. Not only has the frequent travel put a strain on the budget, but a Secret Service agent told VICE News that Trump's travel has contributed to "burnout."
The Clandestine Service 2020 and 2021 budget requests contain explanations of some of the expenses driving costs that necessitate a larger budget. One of these is protective travel. Protective travel spiked massively in 2017 when Trump became president. In the final fiscal two years, the Trump family has taken three,249 protected trips. In 7 years, the Obama family took a total of 933.
The chart below shows the number of protective trips for each fiscal year, which, for the federal government, begins in October. Because the fiscal year does not line up with Trump's inauguration, nosotros have left financial year 2017 out of the calculations. Protected travel visits are defined as " any instance that an private protectee spends time within the jurisdiction of a single USSS field role, other than the protectee's abode district."
All this travel has price taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. The Washington Post reported that in 2017 the Underground service requested an additional $60 million for the year to pay for protective travel for President Trump, Vice President Pence, visiting heads of country and the Trump family. $26.8 million was set aside to protect Trump'southward family and their residence at Trump Tower. That $60 meg increment was no small bump: in 2015, the entire Secret Service protective travel budget was $80 million.
Some of the spike can be deemed for past the fact that President Trump has five children, 4 of whom are adults, whereas President Obama has ii. However, fifty-fifty vice presidential families with adult children did non reach close to the tally of the Trump family. Vice President Biden's family tally, including his adult children and grandchildren , reached 1,882 in 7 years, only effectually 250 more than than the Trump family unit accumulates every yr. Vice President Pence'south family has only taken 190 protected trips in the last 2 fiscal years.
CREW has uncovered the Secret Service costs for several Trump family business organisation trips that help to piece together the tab that the Trump family has accumulated with taxpayers. In February 2017, Eric and Don Jr. flew to Dubai to open a Trump-branded golf club, which cost the Secret Service more than than $200,000 . The same month, Eric flew to the Dominican Commonwealth to potentially relaunch a failed Trump-branded resort project, which cost $20,000 . Eric Trump has visited Uruguay twice for Trump Organization business organisation, costing taxpayers $97,830 in 2017,and $eighty,786 in 2019. And those are only the receipts we have obtained and then far. What we practise know is that the President'due south frequent trips to Trump branded properties put taxpayer money directly into the coffers of the Trump Organisation.
The Trump family unit has taken more than three thousand protected trips in the last two fiscal years and the Underground Service budget has had to increase massively to accommodate the family unit's travels. We don't know exactly how many of those trips are related to the Trump business concern, but the bill is adding up fast. A 12x increase in whatever budget item is bound to attract attention, and the President'southward business should reimburse the Treasury for taxpayers funds spent to support his business organisation straight or indirectly.
Source: https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/trump-family-travel-12x-obama-family/
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