Donald Trump Jr. Gives Up Secret Service Protection, Seeking Privacy – By Nicholas Fandos & Maggie Haberman (new York times)/ Sept 18 2017
ASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, has elected to forgo protection by the Secret Service, according to a senior administration official.
The agency ceased protecting Mr. Trump, who lives in New York City and is an executive at the Trump Organization, last week. Mr. Trump, an avid camper and hunter, is said to be seeking more privacy than he can expect wit
h a contingent of agents accompanying him everywhere.
It was not immediately clear whether the decision applied to his family; he and his wife, Vanessa, have five children. Mr. Trump could not be reached, and the White House did not return a message seeking comment.
But giving up protection of even the younger Mr. Trump alone will provide relief for the Secret Service, which has had its work force and resources strained by the size and lifestyle of the Trump family.
Like other members of his family, Mr. Trump’s personal and business travel — often to far-flung Trump properties and projects around the world — has triggered frequent criticism and careful documentation by Democrats and other watchdog groups.
Those groups argue that taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for the agency’s highly trained agents to accompany the younger Mr. Trump. The size of the first family had forced the Secret Service to shift agents who would otherwise be working on criminal cases or investigations into protective duty.
The Secret Service does not decide who falls under its protection.
In the case of the president’s immediate family, the agency is required by law to provide round-the-clock security unless it is told not to.
The president’s other children and grandchildren will continue to be covered by the agency. So will Trump Tower, home to the Trump Organization, which has been designated as the president’s primary residence.
A spokeswoman for the Secret Service, Catherine Milhoan, declined to comment on the matter.
“To ensure the safety and security of our protectees and their families, we will not confirm who is currently receiving Secret Service protection,” Ms. Milhoan said.
The decision appears to have come just before the start of one of the most challenging periods of the year for the Secret Service: the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan. With heads of state and high-ranking American officials gathered in one place, the weeklong summit meeting is often referred to as the agency’s Super Bowl and requires special agents and other resources to be flown in from across the country.
More than 1,000 special agents have worked so many extra hours that they have already reached a cap on overtime pay for the year. Lawmakers have proposed legislation to raise that cap for this year and next, but that measure has not yet passed.
PB/TK – Giving up Secret Service protection for more privacy, does Don Don Jr not understand the “celebrity” status of being a POTUS child? Now unless he’s gonna provide his own personal security (which I’m positive he will), it’s only gonna make those detractors wanna move in closer. I smell a Media restraining order brewing
