It's always a good time to jet set to the Caribbean for a weekend getaway. Give us the beach, the sound of the ocean, and a few tropical adult drinks. And you know who agrees with us? First daughter and White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump. But as with every trip the Trump kids take, this one wasn't without cost to U.S. taxpayers. Quartz reports Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner's weekend getaway to a luxury resort in the Dominican Republican this past August came at a price tag of around $58,000 in security costs.
It's not the first time that the couple's vacations — which they often take when a White House's crises get out of control — have come under scrutiny. Their two-day getaway to Vermont after the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, VA in 2017 cost taxpayers around $14,000 in travel and lodging for the Secret Service agents tasked with protecting the couple.
While the first family follows protocol by paying out-of-pocket for their vacations and other trips, the high cost of Secret Service protection for President Donald Trump's four adult children has often been the subject of debate. Here's some of the costs they've racked up even before their father took office: Eric's business trip to Uruguay in early January 2017 cost taxpayers nearly $98,000 in security. Donald Jr., Tiffany, and Eric traveled to Vancouver, Canada in February 2017 and racked up around $53,000 in Secret Service protection. Taxpayers paid $230,000 in travel costs for the agents tasked with protecting Donald Jr. and Eric during a month-long Trump Organization business trip.
President Trump and his family are not the first ones to travel on taxpayers' dime. But unlike other presidents, the Trump patriarch often criticized the trips taken by President Barack Obama and his family, calling their travels a waste of taxpayer money. Per the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, the cost of the Obamas' travel during his eight-year tenure cost just under $100 million. By contrast, President Trump’s trips during just his first 80 days in office alone came at a price tag of $20 million. As of this summer, his frequent trips to his Florida resort have been more costly than the probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, which he loves to rail against.