The Trump Organization charged the United States Secret Service “exorbitant rates” to protect the former president at his own properties during and after his time in the White House, an investigation by the House Oversight Committee found.
According to documents released by the committee, the Trump Organization charged the Secret Service, and therefore taxpayers, nightly rates as high as $1,185, way above the government rate.
“The exorbitant rates charged to the Secret Service and agents’ frequent stays at Trump-owned properties raise significant concerns about the former President’s self-dealing and may have resulted in a taxpayer-funded windfall for former President Trump’s struggling businesses,” committee chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) said.
The investigation found that the Trump Organization charged the Secret Service more than the government rate at least 40 times from January 2017 to September 2021.
Records obtained by the committee shows the Secret Service was charged $1,160 for a room at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. for agents protecting Eric Trump on March 8, 2017. The government rate for D.C. on that night was $242.
On Nov. 8, 2017, the Secret Service was charged $1,185 for agents protecting Donald Trump Jr. The government rate was $201.
Yet, in a statement to CNN, Eric Trump claims “any services rendered to the United States Secret Service or other government agencies at Trump owned properties were at their request and were either provided at cost, heavily discounted or for free.”
The Washington Post first reported that the Trump Organization properties charged the Secret Service more than $1.4 million overall for agents’ accommodations at Trump properties while traveling to protect former President Trump. It was not reported at the time that they charged nightly rates as high as $1,185 for room.
