The only thing President Trump may be fonder of than golf is golf carts, and his habit is costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars — even when those carts are used on Trump-owned golf courses.
The Secret Service signed a $13,500 contract with a golf cart rental company the day before Trump left for his 17-day vacation at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Since, as the name indicates, Trump owns the place, it’s unclear why he couldn’t throw in some freebie golf carts for his security service. Yet it is a pattern: In June, the Secret Service signed $10,800 in rental contracts with the same New York-based golf cart company. Earlier this year, the Secret Service spent $35,185 on cart rentals at Mar-a-Lago, which were used during the president’s frequent weekend trips there, reported USA Today.
That brings the total cost of Secret Service golf cart rentals to $59,585.
Trump also leans on motorized help off the course. It was somewhat infamously reported that during the G20 summit, when other world leaders walked 80 yards outdoors to a meeting, Trump followed behind in a golf cart.
No word on whether the U.S. received a bill for that one.
Earlier this year, the agency requested $60 million in additional funds to pay for protecting the President. In May, the Associated Press reported that Trump signed a spending bill that included $61 million to reimburse law enforcement agencies for protecting him and his family since Election Day, and $58 million for additional Secret Service costs such as rent in Trump Tower and housing for agents at Mar-a-Lago.
Last week, the Washington Post reported that Trump Tower evicted the Secret Service in a lease dispute. They are now protecting the president’s home from a trailer on the street.
