New York senior Senator Chuck Schumer wants President Donald Trump to include in his Federal budget as much as $183 million per year to cover security costs for the president and the First Family in New York City.
The New York City Police Department says it costs $500,000 each day to pay for nearly 200 police officers to provide security in and around Trump Tower[TRData] on Fifth Avenue. That figure to climb to as much as $183 million each year, and the city has only been reimbursed for $7 million of the $35 million it’s requested so far by Congress.
During a news conference outside his Manhattan office, Schumer urged Trump to allocate security funds into the federal budget and ease the burden on the city’s taxpayers, the New York Daily News reported.
“We all know that it is a national responsibility of the federal government to protect the President. And that’s as it should be,” Schumer said. “But right now, New York City taxpayers are paying a huge amount of money to protect the president and the Trump Tower.”
“This is his responsibility and I hope the President will step up to the plate,” he added.
A spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office said, “communication with Congress and the White House is ongoing and we remain committed to seeking full reimbursement.”
Palm Beach County officials, too, are feeling the strain from Trump’s visits to Mar-a-Lago, which they say cost an estimated $60,000 a day in police overtime.
“We are overwhelmed right now,” town director of public safety Kirk Blouin told the Sun-Sentinel. “This is a whole new situation for us.”
Expenses for protecting the president and his family – including his four adult children – are on pace to far exceed the costs for former President Barack Obama and his family, which added up to an estimated $97 million during his entire tenure, according to the conservative Judicial Watch oversight group. [NYDN] — Rich Bockmann