President Donald Trump ended former Vice President Kamala Harris’s Secret Service protection Thursday — and the media went completely berserk.
A senior White House official confirmed to multiple news outlets that Trump issued an executive memorandum to the Department of Homeland Security terminating Harris’s security detail effective Monday, September 1.
But what they won’t tell you: Trump was restoring the standard for former vice presidents after the Biden administration secretly extended Harris’ coverage beyond normal policy.
Former vice presidents typically receive federal government protection for only six months after leaving office, while former presidents receive lifetime protection.
Harris’s six-month period expired in July, but the Biden administration quietly extended her protection to 18 months without public disclosure or explanation.
The secret extension would have kept Harris’s taxpayer-funded security in place until July 2026, with taxpayers covering her upcoming book tour for her memoir “107 Days” scheduled for release next month.
Then-President Joe Biden quietly signed a directive extending protection for Harris beyond the traditional six months right before leaving office. The extension was not made public until news of Trump’s decision broke.
Trump’s action returns Secret Service protection for former vice presidents to the standard policy that has applied to all previous vice presidents.
Mainstream news outlets initially reported Trump’s decision without disclosing Biden’s secret extension, and ran headlines suggesting Trump was arbitrarily stripping Harris of protection for political reasons.
The extension of Harris’s protection was done without congressional authorization or changes to existing law governing post-office benefits for former officials.
Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee last summer after Biden was forced out of the race under pressure from Democratic Party leaders. She badly lost the November election to Trump despite spending $1.5 billion during her 15-week campaign.
The former vice president has continued fundraising for Democratic causes since her defeat, but almost all the money has gone to pay off her campaign debts rather than support future candidates.