Posted on 02/06/2019 2:08:24 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The Government Accountability Office set out in 2017 to calculate the total cost to taxpayers of President Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Palm Beach, Fla., but said in a report issued on Tuesday that it could come up with only a snapshot of the expenses because the Trump administration did not respond to requests for more information.
The agency ended up studying only four trips the president took over a one-month period in 2017 and found that government agencies, including the Defense Department and the Secret Service, spent some $13.6 million — an average of over $3 million for each trip — to transport and protect the president, with the bulk of the expenses going to cover the cost of military aircraft and boats during that time.
The tab, officials say, is most likely higher since the total expenses that administration members racked up traveling, dining and staying at the resort are not known for the four trips, much less for the 218 days of his presidency that Mr. Trump has spent at one of his properties. Of that total, 78 of the days were spent at Mar-a-Lago.
The G.A.O. officials who compiled the report said the White House did not respond to three separate requests for information that might help them flesh out travel costs, while the Secret Service and the Defense Department had not submitted regular accounting of expenses to Congress, as is required by the Presidential Protection Assistance Act of 1976.
As a result, the G.A.O. studied only trips Mr. Trump took from Feb. 3 through March 5, 2017, hoping to piece together the costs. On one of those trips, for example, the president hosted Shinzo Abe, the prime minister of Japan, at Mar-a-Lago.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
SUDDENLY, THE DEMS ARE CONCERNED WITH COSTS. FROM THE ARTICLE:
Noah Bookbinder, the executive director of the ethics watchdog CREW, said that the report raised significant issues, particularly since it found that about $60,000 had been pumped back into Mar-a-Lago during that time period.
“When the president travels to visit his properties, he is promoting those businesses, offering them extensive free publicity as well as in some cases providing access and other perks to his paying customers,” Mr. Bookbinder said. “Of course when the money is paid directly to a presidential property like Mar-a-Lago, those conflict-of-interest concerns intensify.”
The Democratic lawmakers who requested the report also asked officials to examine the costs of protecting two of the president’s sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., on three international trips taken in early 2017. The report found that the younger Trumps flew by commercial aircraft, and it cost the Secret Service about $396,000, mostly in temporary duty costs, to protect them on trips to Uruguay, the Dominican Republic and the United Arab Emirates.
Well, since he owns the place, I imagine it is a lot cheaper than the 0bama’s near constant vacations to outrageously expensive places, with their huge retinue of hangers-on.
One true enjoyment in life is the real fact (vs NYT ‘fact’) that no one really cares what the NYT says any more.
Lemme guess (strokes beard): I’m assuming less than brocko’s Bali, etc., trips and brocko & company’s separate globe-trotting go-rounds.
About 5% of the cost of Obama’s extravagant travels.
How much was AF2 and mooch trip to Africa? crickets.]
Less than the cost of the salary he doesn’t take.
Obama took weeks long trips to Hawaii and they took separate flights hours apart. I want to hear nothing about a president going to their own property. Whether its Trump, Bush or Reagan, this is always a huge deal for them to take time off and to go to their own place. Democrats fly off to Martha’s Vineyard and the Hamptons and to islands...not a peep.
They weren’t concerned when the Obamas took separate planes to Hawaii 8 times a year or when Moochelle would take a whole planeload of family and friends and butt kissers to Africa or Asia for two weeks.
“The report found that the younger Trumps flew by commercial aircraft, and it cost the Secret Service about $396,000, mostly in temporary duty costs, to protect them on trips to Uruguay, the Dominican Republic and the United Arab Emirates.”
No consideration for them being US goodwill ambassadors?
Lest we forget Moochelle, Marlia and the other obama spawn flying all over the globe for recreation.
Coolidge visited the Black Hillz of SD.
Who wondered about the expenditures?
I remember the days when Hillary’s entourage would accompany her on every European trip. The president’s wife no less. Think what we paid to keep them housed and fed while there too. They can go bleep themselves now.
This gotcha game the left plays is foolhardy, knowing what we know about the processes they corrupted, and are now trying to profess an interest in.
Trump works hard. He deserves his choice of quality time.
wake me up when the combined costs exceed those of Michelle’s Africa trip
Did this leftists group ask how much obama’s trips to Hawaii cost or how much it cost to fly his wife separately from him?
Leftists are horrible people.
JoMa
PRESIDENT TRUMP PAYS FOR THOSE HIMSELF, LSM IDIOTS.
Unlike Clinton & Obama, Mr. Trump is an adult man who is a homeowner. He doesn’t take vacations in Africa or India or Martha’s Vineyard or The Hamptons - he goes home when he has the time.
DC to Mar-a-Lago is what? About a two hour flight?
How much did Clinton and Obummer (even millionaire JFK) donate back to the people?
Leni
A whole lot less than all the Fake Obummer “Family’s” trips amounted to, on US Taxpayers’ monies.
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