Trump billed Secret Service at least $1.3 million for hotels and travel since leaving White House: report

Donald Trump has cost the U.S. Secret Service more than $1.3 million on hotel and transportation since leaving office.

The Daily Beast obtained documents showing that federal agents spent $788,286 on hotel rooms, $286,802 on rental cars and $262,091 on air and rail travel while traveling between South Florida and New Jersey, where the twice-impeached former president spends most of his time since losing the 2020 election.

“Due to the need to maintain operational security, the U.S. Secret Service does not comment on the means, methods, or resources used to conduct our protective operations,” said agency spokesman Kang Lee.

It's not clear how the Trump protection costs compare to costs for guarding the other living presidents -- Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama -- and it appears that some federal agents are opting for rooms at nearby hotels rather than paying for more expensive lodging at Trump-owned properties.

READ: Trump may have planned to join supporters at the Capitol — and the Secret Service could prove it: Stephanie Grisham

“That tells me most of his travel is domestic," said retired Secret Service deputy assistant director James Helminski. "It actually sounds low. I don’t think you have the full story."

Trump has continued his habit of showing off his Secret Service detail to Mar-A-Lago guests since leaving the White House, boasting that his assigned agents are the most "handsome."

“[He] liked the [agents] that looked physically fit [and] nice-looking,” said one former senior administration official, “[and] asked for overweight [and overweight-looking] ones to be removed."

Sources also told The Daily Beast that Trump has developed a new habit with his Secret Service detail, with whom he strikes up conversations and then steering the conversation to his "rigged" election loss.

READ: Trump’s kids kept their ‘free limo access’ after he left office — and it cost taxpayers $1.7 million

“So you voted for me, right?” he'll ask, before launching into his grievances.