What is the annual cost of Secret Service protection for the President at Mar-a-Lago?
Executive summary
Publicly available reporting shows Secret Service spending tied to Mar‑a‑Lago varies by accounting method: federal procurement records list more than $1.4 million for “perimeter assets” between August 2024 and February 2025 (Newsweek) [1], local agencies and watchdogs estimate per‑visit or overtime bills that push total costs into the millions — e.g., county support for presidential visits was reported as costing about $240,000 per day and officials sought $20 million to cover overtime tied to protecting Mar‑a‑Lago (CBS12) [2]. Watchdog analyses and prior FOIA releases show nearly $2 million or several hundred thousand dollars paid directly to Trump‑owned properties in different timeframes, but no single authoritative annual total appears in the provided sources [3] [4].
1. What the documents say: discrete contract line items, not an annual headline
Federal procurement data cited by Newsweek show the Secret Service paid “more than $1.4 million” for Mar‑a‑Lago perimeter security across a roughly six‑month span (August 2024–February 2025) and a contract performance period running to April 23, 2025 [1]. That figure reflects specific contracting line items — fencing, barriers and similar “perimeter assets” — rather than the full spectrum of costs associated with protecting the president at a private club [1].
2. Local costs and overtime push totals higher
Palm Beach County and local law‑enforcement support significantly add to the price. Reporting shows the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office estimated costs tied to presidential visits at roughly $240,000 per day, and the sheriff sought $20 million from county commissioners to cover overtime amassed while supporting Secret Service operations around Mar‑a‑Lago [2]. Those local bills are separate from Secret Service procurement entries and can multiply quickly for frequent weekend trips.
3. Watchdogs and past FOIA records show payments to Trump properties but in different scopes
Nonprofit and watchdog reporting has documented Secret Service and related federal payments to Trump‑owned properties in other periods: CREW reported more than $300,000 paid to Mar‑a‑Lago in records from the prior term and a separate CREW tally later estimated nearly $2 million across Trump properties [3] [5]. The Guardian cited CREW’s estimate that the Secret Service paid nearly $2 million to Trump‑owned properties overall [4]. Those analyses cover different timeframes and categories (lodging, agent stays, facility charges), so they do not map directly to a single current “annual cost” figure [3] [4].
4. Per‑visit estimates and expert calculations vary widely
Some calculations aim to capture the Secret Service component of a trip: Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch estimated about $250,000 in Secret Service costs per trip (GISEM/Georgetown commentary), and other news outlets reported per‑visit totals — one outlet citing roughly $3.4 million per jaunt when including wide operational costs [6] [7]. These per‑visit estimates depend heavily on assumptions about hours flown, staffing levels, local agency support and what expenses (Air Force One, local overtime, contractor costs) are attributed to a single trip [6] [7].
5. Why there is no single authoritative “annual cost” in the record provided
The sources show multiple pools of spending — Secret Service procurement, payments to private properties for agent lodging and services, contractors for perimeter equipment, and local law‑enforcement overtime — each recorded and sometimes reported in different venues. The provided reporting and FOIA findings offer snapshots (e.g., $1.4M for perimeter assets over six months; sheriff’s office $240k/day figures; previous FOIA totals to Mar‑a‑Lago) but do not present a consolidated annual sum from a single official source [1] [2] [3].
6. Competing narratives and political context
Critics and lawmakers argue taxpayers should not subsidize costs that benefit a president’s private business — Congressman Steve Cohen introduced the “MARALAGO Act” to bar federal reimbursement to entities a president owns while under protection, citing past Secret Service payments to Mar‑a‑Lago [8]. The Secret Service and former agents emphasize operational security and unique protective challenges at private residences, arguing some expenses are necessary and not fully disclosed for security reasons [1] [9].
7. What reporting does not answer
Available sources do not provide a single government‑issued annual total for Secret Service protection specifically at Mar‑a‑Lago for the current year; they instead offer contract line items, local expense requests, watchdog summaries and per‑visit estimates [1] [2] [3]. A definitive annual figure would require consolidated accounting across federal procurement, Secret Service internal budgets, White House travel records, and local agency invoices — documents not presented in the sources provided.
Bottom line: multiple credible sources document substantial, multi‑part costs to protect the president at Mar‑a‑Lago — procurement entries of $1.4M for perimeter assets over six months, local overtime requests in the tens of millions, and watchdog tallies of payments to Trump properties — but the record supplied here does not deliver a single authoritative annual cost [1] [2] [3] [4].