Report: Secret Service can’t afford Trump’s large family, frequent trips

[WestVirginiaRebel]

The Blaze

With four months left in the year, the Secret Service reported that more than 1,000 agents assigned to protect President Donald Trump and his family have already hit their federally mandated caps for salary and overtime allowances that were built in for the entire 2017 calendar year, USA Today revealed Monday.

Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles told USA Today in an interview that the agency can’t change the budget requirements and has had no choice but to accompany Trump without pay on his frequent travel to Florida, New Jersey, and Virginia to visit Trump family properties, including Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, and Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, New Jersey.

According to USA Today, Trump has taken a trip almost every weekend since his inauguration in January.

Trump’s large extended family has also posed a problem for the agency, with a number of Secret Service agents traveling with all of his adult children for any kind of trip — business or pleasure.

“The president has a large family, and our responsibility is required in law,” Alles said. “I can’t change that. I have no flexibility.”

The Trump administration has a whopping 42 people requiring Secret Service protection, which includes 18 family members. The highest number of protectees during the Obama administration was 31.

“Normally, we are not this tapped out,” Alles said.

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