The cost of Betsy DeVos’s security detail: $1 million per month
Federal marshals are protecting Education Secretary Betsy DeVos at a cost to her agency of $1 million per month, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The Education Department has agreed to reimburse the marshals $7.78 million for their services from mid-February to the end of September of this year, according to a spokeswoman for the Marshals Service — an amount that works out to about $1 million per month. Marshals will continue providing security for the education secretary for the next four years, or until either agency decides to terminate the arrangement, under an agreement signed last week.
While the department is spending the additional money on DeVos’s security, members of the in-house security team that guarded previous secretaries remain on the payroll. But they are not guarding DeVos and have not been assigned new duties, according to a department employee who was not authorized to speak to a reporter and asked for anonymity.
A department spokesman, who declined to be identified, said he could not comment on personnel decisions. He said the agency deferred to the federal marshals’ threat assessment and determination about what would be necessary to keep the secretary safe and able to do her job.
The new outlay is a tiny fraction of the department’s budget, but comes as the Trump administration has proposed slashing the spending plan by $9 billion, or 13.5 percent.
DeVos is the the only Cabinet secretary under the protection of the marshals, law enforcement officers who are generally responsible for protecting federal judges, transporting prisoners, apprehending fugitives and protecting witnesses. They also guard the deputy attorney general and Supreme Court justices when they travel.
The last Cabinet member protected by marshals was a director of the Office of National Drug The cost of Betsy DeVos’s security detail: $1 million per month - The Washington Post:
