Secret Service agents in Trump's detail asked about guarding him full time at Mar-a-Lago after term ends: Report
With President Donald Trump’s chances of turning the results of the 2020 presidential election evaporating fast, speculation over his post-presidency life is getting rife. While the GOP leader is yet to concede defeat against Joe Biden, Secret Service agents in his detail have reportedly been asked whether they are keen on transferring to Florida’s Palm Beach, ABC News reported on November 24.
According to the report that cited sources, the Secret Service’s Miami field office has started looking at physical reinforcements to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s popular resort where he loves to spend time and even describes as “the winter White House”. These moves though are yet to be officially confirmed since the 45th president has not yet conceded to the 46th.
Trump, who was born in New York and spent a long time of his life there, shifted his residency to Florida last year and also voted in the Sunshine State in late October. The maverick president managed to win Florida (by little over three percent) even though pre-poll indications showed that he would struggle to keep the state that he won in 2016, in his kitty.
Secret Service hasn't divulged details
ABC reached out to the Secret Service but it did not divulge the details. “For operational security reasons, the Secret Service does not discuss specifically or in general terms the means, methods or resources we utilize to carry out our protective mission,” its spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Sources in the Trump Organization also refused to comment on the matter, according to the report.
Renovations in living quarters that Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are expected to occupy post the former’s presidency are already underway, even if the political battles are underway, sources familiar with the planning revealed to ABC News. Trump became the first president in three decades to have a single term at the White House, the last being George H W Bush (1989-1993). Among other living past presidents are Barack Obama (2009-17), George W Bush (2001-2009), Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and Jimmy Carter (1977-81).
The report also cited the sources to say the renovations are only “updates” to the living quarters, partly because the residence has been used only temporarily. The Mar-a-Lago club, however, is opened only seasonally and it is still not clear how it could change if the soon-to-be-former first couple shifts there for a permanent residency.
Trump will be required to spend at least six months a calendar year in Florida to maintain his status of residency. The veteran is, however, also expected to spend time at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, as well as in New York, the sources said. As it has always been, Trump's unpredictability keeps his post-presidency residential plan still uncertain.
Meanwhile, the New York Police Department is in the middle of a plan to work with the Secret Service to reduce the law-enforcement footprint near and around the Trump Tower, Manhattan, since it will no longer be the outgoing president’s primary residence, a police source told ABC News. As a result, the traffic will be freer and Midtown congestion will ease, the police are hoping.