Secret Service Forsakes Trump Tower In Lease Dispute With Trump Organization

The Secret Service vacated its command post at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Wednesday over a dispute with the Trump Organization regarding the agency’s lease terms. They were initially stationed at Trump Tower, with senior government officials and agents on standby in case of an emergency.

The post was located in the Trump Tower unit, one floor below the President's apartment but since early July it was relocated to a trailer on the sidewalk, the Washington Post reported.

It is reportedly a matter of great concern for the agency as some security experts worry the increased distance could affect the agency's capacity to protect the president’s home and family members.

"It’s a security deficiency that has to be resolved. It’s like having the quarterback of the football game actually being located in a different stadium than where the game is being played," said a former Secret Service official.

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However, according to a few reports in the Post, even though Trump Organization has asked the agency to look elsewhere, the Secret Service is still hoping for a space in Trump Tower.

The command center works as a nerve center both at the president’s private home and when he travels. There is also an agreement about a separate lease space with the U.S. military, in Trump Tower for $130,000 a month, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal last month.

That space is meant for the White House Military Office, which will provide services including communications and the handling of the “football” that the president would use to launch a nuclear attack, the Journal reported.

According to a May 2017 report in the New York Times, Congress passed a bill to allow more than $120 million in additional money to help cover the costs of protecting the Trump family and Trump Tower under a bipartisan spending agreement.

The additional funding is a reflection of the tremendous costs associated with protecting the lifestyle of Trump and his family. And it is likely to provide relief to those who have borne the brunt of the effort — if only till the end of next month when the current fiscal year ends.

The agency had requested for additional money earlier in 2017. In total, the Secret Service spends more than $750 million of its $1.8 billion budget on protective operations.

The Secret Service was partially strained as they had to keep up with protecting the first lady, Melanie Trump, and her son living at Trump Tower and the president’s frequently traveling adult children.

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Out of the $120 million, about half the money was earmarked for the Secret Service, with most of it going toward protecting the president while he is traveling, as well as security for Trump Tower.

The other half of the huge budget was set aside in a rare provision to reimburse local authorities in places like New York City and Palm Beach County in Florida, where Trump and his family have spent a lot of time since the day of the presidential elections. Bedminster, New Jersey, where Trump owns another golf club and is expected to spend time in the coming weeks and months, would also be eligible to apply for the funds.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office has said it was spending an additional $60,000 a day in overtime when the president was visiting his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He has visited the place seven times since Inauguration Day, spending a total of 25 days there so far.

Those responsible for another property in Bedminster, about an hour outside New York City, said its 16-person police force spent $300,000 protecting Mr. Trump when he held meetings at the club during the presidential transition period.

Although the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the issue then, Democratic Representative Ted Deutch, of Florida, who represents parts of Palm Beach County, had said he was grateful as the county’s taxpayers would not be on the hook.

“This is an important step,” he said. “But now and by the end of the funding bill, we have to have a discussion about whether it is appropriate for the president to bill the taxpayers for trips to his private club.”