Trump reportedly granted Secret Service protections to all his adult children and 3 top officials before he left the White House. It will cost US taxpayers millions.

trump leaving white house final time — Outgoing US President Donald Trump waves as he boards Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2021
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump granted extended Secret Service protections to his four adult children and their spouses before he left the White House, The Washington Post reported.
Former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and former National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien will also receive the expensive, full-time security detail.
The extended security detail could cost taxpayers millions of dollars, especially given the amount of traveling that the Trump children do related to the family company.
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Former President Donald Trump extended Secret Service protections for all of his adult children and their spouses, as well as three top administration officials, just before leaving the White House, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The taxpayer-funded security will be extended to Trump's four adult children and their spouses - Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and wife Lara Trump, and Tiffany Trump, three people familiar with the president's request told The Post. Trump's grandchildren will also be included in the protections deriving from that of their parents.

Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and former National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien were also granted Secret Service protections by the president, according to The Post report.

The extended security detail could cost taxpayers millions of dollars, The Post reported, especially given the amount of traveling that the Trump children do related to the family company, the Trump Organization.

"From 2017 to 2019, government records show, Trump family members took more than 4,500 trips that required the Secret Service to travel alongside them, costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars," according to The Post report.

Typically, Trump and his wife Melania are automatically granted the expensive 24-hour protection for their lifetimes, and their 14-year-old son Barron will receive such protections until the age of 16. Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence are also entitled to full-time security detail post-administration for the next six months.

Trump isn't the first president to extend Secret Service protections to those who aren't automatically entitled to receive them. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush granted security details to their college-age daughters for a period of time following their terms. Former President Barack Obama extended protections to his daughters Sasha and Malia after he left office, who were in high school and college respectively.

The news of the security detail extension comes on the heels of President Joe Biden being inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States just before noon on Wednesday. Just hours before, Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump left the White House aboard Marine One to Palm Beach, Florida.

The Secret Service is also prepping to grant protections to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and their families, including Biden's two adult children and Harris' two stepchildren.

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