Secret Service can’t pay agents anymore for guarding Trump
Remember back when Donald Trump criticized President Barack Obama for spending too much time out of the White House? Well, like many other things, the President* has doubled back on that and has spent significantly more time outside of the White House in just a few months in office.
As a matter of fact, Trump and his family have been traveling so much that the Secret Service can’t pay agents anymore to protect them. More than 1,000 agents have already reached the cap that was meant to last the entire year.
“The president has a large family, and our responsibility is required in law,” Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles told USA Today. “I can’t change that. I have no flexibility.”
The problem stems from multiple dilemmas. First, the Secret Service is required to protect 42 people under Trump, 18 of which are members of his family. In comparison, Obama only had 31 people under protection in total.
Second, Trump has traveled to his properties in Florida, Virginia and New Jersey almost every weekend since taking office, which spreads the Secret Service even thinner than if everyone were in one place.
“Ensuring the men and women who put their lives on the line protecting the president, his family and others every day are getting paid fairly for their work is a priority,” said Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, the panel’s top Democrat. “I’m committed to working with my colleagues on both sides to get this done.”
The director has already started working with lawmakers to increase agents salaries by more than $25,000, but that still wouldn’t cover all of the work they’ve done. It is feared that this could lead to difficulty recruiting agents for Trump’s entire term as president*.