TRUMP DEPARTS THE CAPITAL
Former president bids farewell to Washington but hints of comeback.
WASHINGTON — In the days before he left office, then-President Donald Trump instructed that his extended family get the best security available in the world for the next six months, at no cost — the protection of the U.S. Secret Service.
According to three people briefed on the plan, Trump issued a directive to extend postpresidency Secret Service protection to 14 members of his family who were not automatically entitled to receive it.
Under federal law, Trump, his wife Melania and their 14-year-old son are the only members of his immediate family entitled to Secret Service protection after they leave office.
The couple will receive it for their lifetimes, and Barron is entitled to protection until he turns 16. Former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen will also receive continued Secret Service security for the next six months under the same law governing protection.
But Trump wanted every family member who had been protected by the Secret Service during his administration to be covered for another six months, according to the people familiar with his directive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe security arrangements.
That means the expensive, taxpayer-funded security will continue for his daughter Ivanka, her husband Jared Kushner andtheir three children; his son Donald Jr. and his five children; his son Eric and his wife Lara; and his daughter Tiffany.
A former Trump White House spokesman declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Secret Service also declined to comment, saying the agency does not discuss the individuals it protects.
A president can order Secret Service protection for any person he choses, but it is unusual for a president to provide 24-hour security to such a large number, including so many grown adults.
President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush sought extensions to protect their collegeaged daughters for a short period after they left office. President Barack Obama’s daughters Sasha and Malia were also granted short extension of security after he left office in 2017, when they were in high school and on a gap year from college. A Secret Service official declined to say when that protection ended.