Palm Beach County needs more money to guard the most protected man in the country.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is requesting more than $45 million from county commissioners to pay for massive amounts of overtime to provide security for President Donald Trump before and after the election.
In a budget workshop on Tuesday, Palm Beach County officials estimated security for POTUS will cost about $35 to $40 million a year. The county budget approved last year did not include any funds for presidential security.
According to The Palm Beach Daily News and FAA temporary flight restrictions issued on Wednesday, Trump is expected to arrive in Palm Beach County on Friday and depart on Sunday. This is the president’s first weekend back home in Florida since Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
County Administrator Verdenia Baker said she has been working with the county’s congressional delegation to approve legislation to allow for reimbursement of costs incurred while Trump campaigned for the office and after he was president-elect.
How much does it cost Palm Beach County to protect Donald Trump?
A Secret Service Agent looks on before Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to deliver remarks, conceding 2024 U.S. presidential election to President-elect Donald Trump, at Howard University in Washington on November 6, 2024.
According to reporting by the Palm Beach Post, PBSO detailed the overtime costs at roughly $130 an hour:
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July 20, 2024-Sept. 30, 2024, $7.4 million for 56,983 hours of overtime
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Oct. 1, 2024-Nov. 10, 2024, $5.8 million for 45,001 hours of overtime
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Nov. 11, 2024-March 31, 2025, $25.4 million (estimate)
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April 1, 2025-Sept. 30, 2025, $6.8 million (estimate)
Why does it cost so much to protect Donald Trump?
The expense of protecting President Trump skyrocketed after the second assassination attempt on his life at his West Palm Beach golf course on Sept. 15.
Roughly two months after his first assassination attempt in July, Ryan Wayne Routh, 58, was arrested after Secret Service agents opened fire on him at a Trump golf course in West Palm Beach. USA TODAY reported the suspect had allegedly built a sniper’s nest on the tree-lined perimeter and was leveling a rifle at the green when he was spotted.
On Dec. 18 last year, former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced the state had charged Routh with attempted felony murder, stemming from the near-death of a 6-year-old girl in a car crash. He already was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference following the September assassination attempt that PBSO would do whatever is required to protect Trump.
Will Palm Beach County get reimbursed for Trump security?
It’s unclear. The county is seeking federal reimbursement but no guarantee will happen and even if it does, budget officials say the county probably would not receive any funds until 2026.
The reimbursement request only pertains to overtime for PBSO. The county is expected to incur significant fuel costs. At this time, there are no estimates of expenses incurred by other county agencies such as Fire Rescue.
County officials said they have used the Presidential Residence Protection Assistance Grant to get refunded by the federal government. Under that law, Palm Beach County was able to receive $17 million from the federal government for presidential security related to protecting President Trump during his first term.
How much security does Trump, former presidents normally get?
In an interview with the BBC, Ronald Kessler, an author who specializes in the Secret Service, shared that about 300 agents are assigned to the sitting president and vice president. This is compared to the 90 to 100 who protect a former president, he noted.
According to the official Secret Service website, it is a federal law enforcement agency that has an “integrated mission of protection and investigations to ensure the safety and security of our protectees, key locations, and events of national significance.”
By law, the Secret Service is authorized to protect:
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The president, the vice president, (or other individuals next in order of succession to the Office of the President), the president-elect, and vice president-elect
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The immediate families of the above individuals
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Former presidents and their spouses, except when the spouse re-marries
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Children of former presidents until age 16
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Visiting heads of foreign states or governments and their spouses traveling with them, other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States, and official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad
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Major presidential and vice presidential candidates, and their spouses within 120 days of a general presidential election
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Other individuals as designated per executive order of the president
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National special security events, when designated as such by the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump security bills in the millions in Florida. Here’s how much
