The United States Secret Service could spend more than $90,000 on “golf cars” in South Florida this winter, according to a new report.
Government Executive reports federal spending data suggests the agency is contracted to pay as much as $92,740 to golf cart supplier Maddox Joines Inc., which operates “Sunshine Golf Car” located roughly 24 miles from the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. Secret Service has so far already doled out $32,225 of that figure as of Nov. 30. The number of other similar contracts for golf carts at other Trump properties is not known.
Several Secret Service agents follow Trump on the course in rental golf carts every time he tees off, something he’s done 154 times since his inauguration. Former President Barack Obama reportedly golfed 306 times in the eight years he held office.
Trump has spent more than 20 percent of the days since he took office in 2016 on the golf course, and his most recent visit was on Nov. 25 at Trump International, per TrumpGolfCount.com. His golf-related expenses stand at an estimated $83 million, per the site — a figure that includes the cost of his Secret Service detail.
In September, TMZ reported Trump’s domestic golf outings cost taxpayers $300,675 for golf cart rentals since the president took office. The outlet noted that many of the expenses were incurred during Trump’s Mar-a-Lago excursions and did not account for expenses incurred during golfing sessions abroad.
While the Secret Service told Government Executive that it cannot comment on “the means, methods, resources, costs, or numbers we utilize to carry out our protective responsibilities,” Quartz reported that all golf carts used by Trump’s security detail have to be modified to go at least 19 mph, roughly 5 mph faster than standard carts.
