How To Limit Trumps Spending Taxpayers Money On Excessive Trips To Florida

WASHINGTON — The Secret Service can no longer pay hundreds of agents it needs to carry out an expanded protective mission – in large part due to the sheer size of President Trump'south family unit and efforts necessary to secure their multiple residences up and down the Eastward Coast.

Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex" Alles, in an interview with USA TODAY, said more than 1,000 agents have already hit the federally mandated caps for salary and overtime allowances that were meant to final the entire year.

The agency has faced a crushing workload since the height of the contentious ballot flavour, and it has not relented in the outset 7 months of the assistants. Agents must protect Trump – who has traveled almost every weekend to his properties in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia – and his developed children whose concern trips and vacations take taken them across the country and overseas.

"The president has a big family unit, and our responsibleness is required in law,'' Alles said. "I can't modify that. I accept no flexibility.''

Alles said the service is grappling with an unprecedented number of White Business firm protectees. Under Trump, 42 people have protection, a number that includes 18 members of his family. That'due south up from 31 during the Obama administration.

Overwork and constant travel take as well been driving a recent exodus from the Underground Service ranks, notwithstanding without congressional intervention to provide additional funding, Alles will non fifty-fifty be able to pay agents for the work they have already done.

The compensation crunch is and then serious that the manager has begun discussions with cardinal lawmakers to enhance the combined salary and overtime cap for agents, from $160,000 per year to $187,000 for at least the duration of Trump'due south start term.

But fifty-fifty if such a proposal was canonical, about 130 veteran agents would not exist fully compensated for hundreds of hours already amassed, co-ordinate to the agency.

"I don't come across this changing in the almost term,'' Alles said.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressed deep business for the continuing stress on the agency, get-go thrust into turmoil v years agone with disclosures about sexual misconduct past agents in Colombia and subsequent White House security breaches.

A special investigative panel formed afterward a particularly egregious 2014 White Business firm alienation too constitute that that agents and uniform officers worked "an unsustainable number of hours,'' which besides contributed to troubling attrition rates.

While well-nigh 800 agents and uniformed officers were hired during the past year as part of an ongoing recruiting blitz to bolster the ranks, attrition limited the bureau'southward net staffing gain to 300, according to agency records. And last yr, Congress had to approve a ane-fourth dimension set up to ensure that 1,400 agents would be compensated for thousands of hours of overtime earned above compensation limits. Last year'south compensation shortfall was first disclosed past U.s. TODAY.

"Information technology is clear that the Secret Service's demands will keep to be college than e'er throughout the Trump assistants,'' said Jennifer Werner, a spokesperson for Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings.

Related: Hundreds of Clandestine Service agents maxed out on overtime

Secret Service tightens White House security on s side

Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee who was the first lawmaker to sound the alarm afterward last year's disclosure that hundreds of agents had maxed out on pay, recently spoke with Alles and pledged support for a more than permanent fix, Werner said.

"We cannot expect the Secret Service to be able to recruit and keep the best of the all-time if they are not being paid for these increases (in overtime hours)."

Southward Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, the Republican chairman of the Business firm oversight panel, is "working with other committees of jurisdiction to explore ways in which we can best support'' the Secret Service, his spokesperson Amanda Gonzalez said.

Talks also are underway in the Senate, where the Hole-and-corner Service has briefed members of the Homeland Security Committee, which directly oversees the the agency's operations.

"Ensuring the men and women who put their lives on the line protecting the president, his family and others every solar day are getting paid fairly for their work is a priority,'' said Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, the panel's superlative Democrat. "I'm committed to working with my colleagues on both sides to get this washed.''

Without some legislative relief, though, at least 1,100 agents – for now – would non be eligible for overtime even as one of the agency'southward largest protective assignments looms next month. Nearly 150 foreign heads of state are expected to converge on New York Metropolis for the United Nations General Associates.

Considering of the sheer number of high-level dignitaries, the Un gathering is traditionally designated past the U.Southward., as a "National Special Security Event" and requires a massive deployment of security resources managed past the Secret Service.

That will be even trickier this twelvemonth. "Normally, nosotros are non this tapped out,'' said Alles, whom Trump appointed to his post in April.

The agents who have reached their compensation limits this year represent about a third of the Secret Service workforce, which was pressed last year to secure both national political conventions in the midst of a rollicking campaign wheel. The campaign featured regular clashes involving protesters at Trump rallies beyond the country, prompting the Secret Service  at one betoken to erect cycle racks as buffers effectually stages to thwart potential rushes from people in the crowd.

Officials had hoped that the agency'southward workload would normalize after the inauguration, but the president'southward frequent weekend trips, his family'southward business travel and the higher number of protectees has made that incommunicable.

Since his inauguration, Trump has taken vii trips to his manor in Mar-a-Lago, Fla., traveled to his Bedminster, N.J., golf club five times and returned to Trump Tower in Manhattan once.

Trump'southward frequent visits to his "winter White House" and "summertime White House" are specially challenging for the agency, which must maintain a regular security infrastructure at each – while still allowing access to paying members and guests.

E'er costly in manpower and equipment, the president'southward jaunts to Mar-a-Lago are estimated to cost at to the lowest degree $3 1000000 each, based on a General Accountability Office guess for like travel by sometime President Obama. The Secret Service has spent some $sixty,000 on golf game cart rentals lonely this twelvemonth to protect Trump at both Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster.

The president, Get-go Lady Melania Trump and the couple's youngest son Barron – who maintained a carve up detail in Trump Tower until June – aren't the only ones on the move with full-time security details in tow.

Trump's other sons, Trump Organization executives Donald Jr. and Eric, based in New York, besides are covered by security details, including when they travel ofttimes to promote Trump-branded properties in other countries.

A few examples: Before this year, Eric Trump'due south business travel to Uruguay toll the Secret Service nearly $100,000 merely for hotel rooms. Other trips included the United Kingdom and the Dominican Democracy. In Feb, both sons and their security details traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the opening of new Trump hotel at that place, and to Dubai to officially open a Trump International Golf Lodge.

In March, security details accompanied function of the family, including Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner on a skiing vacation in Aspen, Colo. Even Tiffany Trump, the president's younger daughter, took vacations with her boyfriend to international locales such equally Frg and Hungary, which besides require Secret Service protection.

While Alles has characterized the security challenges posed by the Trump administration as a new "reality" of the agency'south mission, the former Marine Corps major general said he has discussed the agency's staffing limitations with the White Firm so that security operations are not compromised by a unusually busy travel schedule.

"They empathize,'' Alles said. "They accommodate to the degree they can and to the degree that it can be controlled. They have been supportive the whole time.''

Over time, Alles expects the Cloak-and-dagger Service'south continued hiring campaign will gradually relieve the pressure. From its current forcefulness of six,800 agents and uniform officers, the goal is to reach 7,600 by 2019 and ix,500 by 2025.

"We're making progress,'' he said.

For now, Alles is focused simply on ensuring that his current agents will be paid for the piece of work they take already washed.

"Nosotros have them working all nighttime long; we're sending them on the route all of the time,'' Alles said. "In that location are no quick fixes, but over the long term, I've got to give them a better residual (of work and private life) here."

Related:

The half dozen Trump properties President Trump has visited most every weekend in six months

Secret Service spends $13,500 on golf cart rentals for President Trump'southward Bedminster trip

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/08/21/secret-service-cant-pay-agents-because-trumps-frequent-travel-large-family/529075001/

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