BUDGET/MILITARY/SECRET SERVICE: “The U.S. government is paying more than $130,000 a month to lease space in Trump Tower for the military office that supports the White House, even though Donald Trump hasn’t spent a night at the New York skyscraper since becoming president.
The government signed a $2.39 million lease to rent a 3,475 sq. ft. space in the building for the military from April 11, 2017, to Sept. 30, 2018, nearly 18 months in total, according to lease documents that The Wall Street Journal obtained through a freedom of information request…
The GSA redacted large portions of the lease, including the name of the person who owns the Trump Tower space the government is renting. A Pentagon official wrote in a letter seen by the Journal that the space is owned privately by someone unaffiliated with the Trump Organization and that the department sees no way in which Mr. Trump can benefit from the rent money. Records indicate the owner is Joel R. Anderson, Mr. Trump’s neighbor…
The U.S. military uses the White House Military Office to provide medical, food, transportation and communications services that by regulation need to be close to the president at all times. The military also ensures that the so-called nuclear football—the briefcase that allows the president to authorize a nuclear attack—accompanies the commander in chief during his travels. Its operations are separate from those of the Secret Service…
The Secret Service, for example, requested an additional $25.7 million in the 2018 budget to cover expenses associated with securing Trump Tower and the president’s ‘protective footprint’ in New York City.”
-Paul Sonne, “U.S. Military’s Space in Trump Tower Costs $130,000 a Month,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 19, 2017 09:55am