US President Donald Trump surrounded by officers from the Secret Service's Uniformed Division on the South Lawn of the White House, June 16, 2017. (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb)
WASHINGTON — The US Secret Service is facing a cash crunch because of the high cost of protecting US President Donald Trump, his many homes and large family, its director said in an interview published Monday.
Randolph “Tex” Ailes, the service’s chief, told USA Today more than 1,000 agents have already hit caps for the year on salary and overtime pay because of the crushing workload.
With 150 foreign heads of state due to converge on New York next month for the UN General Assembly, demands on the service are only intensifying.
Trump has traveled nearly every weekend to his properties in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia.
The Mar-A-Lago Club, owned by then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Palm Beach, Florida, March 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
And the Secret Service also provides protection for his adult children on their business trips and vacations.
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In all, 42 people in his administration have Secret Service protection, including 18 members of his family.
“The president has a large family, and our responsibility is required by law,” Ailes said. “I can’t change that, I have no flexibility.”
Ailes, who is seeking more funding from Congress, says he is in negotiations with key members to raise caps on pay and overtime from $160,000 a year to $187,000 for at least the remainder of Trump’s term.
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