Betsy DeVos’ Marshals security is costing taxpayers millions: report
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos receives around-the-clock protection from the US Marshals Service at a cost of millions of dollars a year — an armed detail that no other cabinet member gets, according to a new report.
While it was unclear who made the request, which could cost taxpayers $19.8 million through September 2019, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions granted the protection just days after DeVos was confirmed, NBC News reported.
“The order was issued after the Department of Education contacted administration officials regarding threats received by the Secretary of Education,” the Justice Department told NBC News in a statement.
“The U.S.M.S. was identified to assist in this area based on its expertise and long experience providing executive protection,” it added.
Typically, cabinet secretaries receive security protection arranged by their departments’ internal enforcement units.
DeVos was assigned the detail on Feb. 13, 2017, a few days after she was heckled and blocked by protesters outside a public middle school she visited in Washington, DC, the network reported.
The cost of her security was $5.3 million in fiscal year 2017 and $6.8 million for fiscal year 2018, according to the Marshals Service. The estimated cost for the next fiscal year is $7.74 million.
The Education Department ultimately reimburses the cost, according to the report.
By comparison, it cost $3.5 million to provide security for former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who stepped down in July amid questions about his lavish spending habits during his 17-month tenure.
Liz Hill, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, told NBC News that DeVos had not personally requested the security detail.
“We’re obviously not at liberty to discuss the nature of the threats,” she said. “But it should be obvious that they are significant. Otherwise, the trained professionals who made the call to escalate her detail wouldn’t have done so.”
Anthony Chapa, a former assistant director of the Secret Service, told the network that government officials can be assigned enhanced protection if they face a specific threat or for a particular trip.
“I personally don’t know what the threats (against DeVos) may be, but somebody probably made that determination and felt, because of that particular level of threat, she has increased vulnerability,” Chapa said.
But “if someone made a decision outside of that scope, then that evaluation is worthy of review,” he added.
DeVos, a charter school advocate, was among President Trump’s most controversial cabinet choices because of her lack of familiarity with public schools.
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So, it sounds like funds that could be used towards education are being re-directed to cover security costs for DeVos. Mind boggling.......