The week
Trump reportedly extended 24-hour Secret Service protection to his 4 adult children
One of the last acts of former President Donald Trump in office was to issue a directive extending free Secret Service protection to his four adult children and two of his wives for the next six months, three people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post. his adult children benefiting – Trump also ordered former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former National Security adviser Robert O’Brien to continue receiving Secret Service protection for six months, said two people familiar with the matter in the Post. This 24-hour security, financed with taxpayer money, is expected to cost millions. Under federal law, only Trump, former First Lady Melania Trump and her 14-year-old son, Barron, are entitled to Secret Service protection now that they have left the White House; while Donald and Melania can receive protection for the rest of their lives, Barron is only entitled to it until his 16th birthday. The Post notes that presidents have the ability to request Secret Service protection for anyone they want, but it is extremely unusual for an outgoing president to order this type of security for his children who are already in adulthood. It is also unclear whether there is precedent for requesting security for former advisers. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush requested security extensions for their daughters, who were in college when their presidencies ended. After former President Barack Obama stepped down, his daughters – one in high school, the other in a college gap year – were given a short stretch of security. During Trump’s presidency, his adult children made more than 4,500 trips, including vacation and business trips for the Trump Organization, reports the Post. Taxpayers paid millions of dollars for Secret Service agents to accompany them on these trips. More stories from theweek.com 7 brutally funny caricatures about Trump leaving the White House The Biden team allegedly realized after taking office that Trump really had no Oval Office button vaccine distribution plan