Monday, August 28, 2017

The Secret Service confronts unique challenges in the Trump era

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/the-secret-service-confronts-unique-challenges-the-trump-era
"USA Today goes a step further this morning, highlighting a different kind of problem. The Secret Service can no longer pay hundreds of agents it needs to carry out an expanded protective mission – in large part due to the sheer size of President Trump’s family and efforts necessary to secure their multiple residences up and down the East Coast. Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles, in an interview with USA TODAY, said more than 1,000 agents have already hit the federally mandated caps for salary and overtime allowances that were meant to last the entire year. The agency has faced a crushing workload since the height of the contentious election season, and it has not relented in the first seven months of the administration. Agents must protect Trump – who has traveled almost every weekend to his properties in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia – and his adult children whose business trips and vacations have taken them across the country and overseas. There are currently 42 protectees – up from 31 in the Obama era – including 18 members of the Trump family. USA Today’s report added that even if Congress intervenes with additional funds, “about 130 veteran agents would not be fully compensated for hundreds of hours already amassed.” And while the agency hoped the burdens would ease after Inauguration Day, “the president’s frequent weekend trips” have contributed to a situation in which the Secret Service has been overwhelmed."

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