By Anthony Man
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
PALM BEACH, Fla. — The federal government will reimburse Palm Beach County for the heavy security costs local taxpayers had been covering for President Donald Trump’s frequent visits to his Mar-a-Lago home and club.
The Palm Beach resort has long been Trump’s refuge. When he’s in town, that means added security costs Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the city of West Palm Beach Police Department and the Town of Palm Beach Police.
Even though the Secret Service surrounds and protects the president, local authorities help secure motorcade routes and work on the perimeter.
Security surrounding Trump increased significantly last summer when he was the former president running to return to office. He survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., on July 13, and on Sept. 15, a would-be assassin waiting outside his golf course near West Palm Beach was foiled.
Earlier this year, Todd Bonlarron, an assistant Palm Beach County administrator who is currently serving as interim county administration, said security during the president’s time in the area can cost $200,000 to $300,000 a day, depending on his activities.
The newly enacted law appropriates $300 million over five years for security reimbursements to communities where Trump has residences, said a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, whose district includes Mar-a-Lago and the Trump International Golf Club near West Palm Beach.
Agencies can start applying for reimbursements now. Expenses can be reimbursed back to July 1, 2024 .
The reimbursement program is one of many provisions in Trump’s signature piece of legislation that passed Congress and he signed into law during his second presidency.
Dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” by the president and Republicans, it increases money for immigration enforcement and the military, cuts spending on the Medicaid health program and on hunger programs, and adds or extends multiple tax cuts, most of which benefit upper income taxpayers.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated it would add $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, an assessment in line with a wide range of non-government analysts. That doesn’t include another $500 million in interest costs. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said it could add $3 trillion to $5 trillion to the national debt.
A sliver of that spending is the security spending reimbursements for Trump’s visits to his homes, where Trump spends most of his weekends.
During cooler months, Trump spends most weekends at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, which involves arriving at and leaving from Palm Beach International Airport, lots of time at the Trump International Golf Club, moving around among the locations.
When the weather heats up and the Palm Beach social scene dies down, the president spends much of his weekend time in New Jersey, at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.
Reimbursing local security costs had Democratic and Republican support.
Frankel, a Palm Beach County Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Tom Kean, a New Jersey Republican whose district includes Bedminster, filed legislation earlier this year to create a reimbursement program.
Citing the overall impact of what she and other Democrats call the “One Big Ugly Bill,” Frankel voted against it.
“This bill is nothing short of cruel. It includes the largest Medicaid cut in history, ripping health care away from nearly 17 million Americans, including two million Floridians, and raising costs for everyone else,” Frankel said in a written statement. “It threatens nutrition programs across the country—leaving children, seniors, Veterans, and people with disabilities at risk of going hungry. And despite all these painful cuts, it still adds at least $4 trillion to the national debt, just to give billionaires like Elon Musk another tax break at the expense of our children and grandchildren. Americans and their families deserve better.”
The Frankel-Kean legislation would have covered local law enforcement and fire services for Trump’s visits to his residences. Frankel’s office said the provision that became law covers law enforcement but not fire services.
A similar reimbursement program was in place during Trump’s first term in office, from 2017 to 2021.
Political writer Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.
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