Politics

Trump Jr Drops Secret Service Protection

REUTERS/Mike Segar

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Will Racke Immigration and Foreign Policy Reporter
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Donald Trump Jr. has chosen to give up his Secret Service detail, citing a desire for more privacy, according to multiple reports.

The president’s eldest son dropped Secret Service protection sometime last week, the New York Times reported Monday. Trump Jr., who lives in New York City and is an executive of the Trump Organization, reportedly was frustrated with the extra attention that came with traveling everywhere with a contingent of protective agents.

It remains unclear if the decision also applies to Trump Jr.’s immediate family. The Washington Post reported that he had been talking for weeks about waiving the round-the-clock protection that Secret Service agents provide him, his wife and their five children.

A Secret Service spokesperson declined to comment on the protective arrangements for Trump Jr. or his family.

“To ensure the safety and security of our protectees and their families, we will not confirm who is currently receiving Secret Service protection,” the spokesperson told WaPo.

By law, Secret Service protection is automatically offered to the adult children of presidents, but they are allowed to turn it down. It is rare but not unprecedented for a president’s adult child to decline a protective detail — Ron Reagan did so during his father’s second term.

Trump has come under criticism from some government watchdogs for the expense of protecting his adult children and their families, as well as a larger-than-normal group of advisors who are also assigned Secret Service details. Agents now operate full-time details on 42 people — 11 more than under Obama — including 18 members of the president’s family, according to WaPo.

Trump Jr. is not the only member of the president’s inner circle whose detail is being lifted. In an unrelated case, Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway will no longer receive protection, reports TheNYT.

Conway’s protective detail is not required by statute — Trump ordered Secret Service protection for her after she received several threats during the administration’s first months. An administration official said the threat assessment on Conway has changed, reports TheNYT.

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