Protecting the Trump family: Secret Service asking Congress to raise overtime cap
In the first seven months of the Trump administration, the Secret Service has been so busy that hundreds of agents will hit their maximum pay and not be eligible for overtime. In a statement, the director of the Secret Service admitted "roughly 1,100 employees will work overtime hours in excess of statutory pay caps." The agency has the funding to protect the large Trump family through September.
Mr. Trump's presidency has also stretched the Secret Service's budget because of travel and more protectees, reports CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues.
The Secret Service insists that agents are being paid and security has not been compromised. But the overtime issue isn't going to be solved until Congress passes a permanent fix. The Secret Service is asking Congress to raise the combined salary and overtime cap for agents by nearly $30,000 a year for the remainder of Mr. Trump's first term. But even if such a proposal were to pass, nearly 130 veteran agents would not be fully compensated for the hundreds of hours already worked.
Under President Obama, 31 people were protected by the Secret Service. Under President Trump, the number has risen to 42. That includes 18 members of the president's family.
For example, in June, Mr. Trump's daughter, Tiffany, traveled to Berlin with her boyfriend. A Secret Service detail went with her at a cost of $22,439. Secret Service details have also shadowed Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. during their business travel overseas. The cost to the Secret Service for those trips have topped at least $200,000. The Secret Service has also spent $64,000 to inspect elevators at Trump Tower and $73,000 on golf cart rentals at Trump properties.
"These type of problems with the budget have existed for decades," retired Secret Service agent Larry Johnson said.
"Now we're seeing because of travel, agents are not only running out of overtime money, but their also quality of life is taking a big hit," he added.
