Palm Beach leaders want the federal government to foot the bill for Donald Trump’s beefed up security.
Since the first assassination attempt on the former president and Republican candidate, it has cost local municipalities $93,000 a day to protect him, according to the Palm Beach Post. Palm Beach County and the town of Palm Beach are seeking reimbursement for the “extraordinary costs” incurred by protecting Trump, according to a seven-page letter addressed to the county’s congressional delegation, the newspaper reported.
Palm Beach County Mayor Maria Sachs authored the letter, which was co-signed by County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and Town Mayor Danielle Moore.
“We will do what is necessary to protect the former president, but that expense should not be borne by Palm Beach County taxpayers,” Sachs told the Palm Beach Post.
Local officials estimated it will cost $6.8 million to protect Trump through Election Day on Nov. 5, but that figure doesn’t take into account additional protective measures adopted after the latest Sept. 15 assassination attempt.
Following the July attempt on Trump’s life, the Secret Service instituted an indefinite road closure in front of his Mar-A-Lago Club on the island, landing an entire neighborhood of multimillion-dollar homes behind police barricades. Frustration with the disruptions to traffic and life on the island reached a boiling point when the Town Council floated a Mar-A-Lago shutdown at a meeting in August.
“In my mind, if the road is closed, the Mar-a-Lago Club is closed,” Moore said at the meeting. “It’s completely illogical that you’ve got a road closed, and then you’re going to let 350 strangers into your club.”
Shortly after that, the Secret Service agreed to re-open the road when Trump was not in residence at the club.
A Trump win on Nov. 5 could mean the road closures and other security measures continue to disrupt island life for the foreseeable future.
–– Kate Hinsche
