Trump charged US taxpayers $40,000 for Secret Service to use a room at Mar-a-Lago in the months since he left office: WaPo

• Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort charged the US government at least $40,000 for the use of a room between January 20 and April 30, The Washington Post reported.
• Trump's Palm Beach resort charged $396 per night, which is almost double the federally mandated maximum rate for most government employees in that county.
• Trump moved to his Bedminster, New Jersey resort earlier this month and it's unclear whether he's charging Secret Service to stay or work there.

Former President Donald Trump charged the US government at least $40,000 for Secret Service to use a room at his Mar-a-Lago resort after he left the White House, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

Trump's Palm Beach, Florida resort charged taxpayers $396.15 every night from January 20 to at least April 30 for a single room Trump's security detail worked out of, according to spending records The Post obtained through a public-records request.

The nearly $400-per-night cost is less than the original $546-per-night rate Mar-a-Lago charged the government during Trump's first months in office. But under federal rules, most government employees are limited to spending $205 a night for accommodation in Palm Beach County, according to the General Services Administration.

Trump moved to Mar-a-Lago on his last day in office and lived there full time until early May, when he moved to his Bedminster, New Jersey club for the summer. It's unclear whether his property is charging the Secret Service to stay in Bedminster or use any of the facilities.

This comes after Mar-a-Lago charged the Secret Service almost $16,000 for Trump's week-long Christmas visit to his club in December 2020, while he was still president.

Former US presidents are given Secret Service protection for the rest of their lives, in addition to a $219,000 annual pension and staff paid for by the government. But it is highly unusual for a former president to charge his protective detail.

When President Joe Biden was vice president, he charged the Secret Service $2,200 per month to rent a cottage on his Delaware property. But he hasn't charged the US government since becoming president, the White House told The Post.

During his four years in office, Trump charged US taxpayers more than $2.5 million to use facilities at his properties, The Post reported. Trump's properties raked in another $5.6 million from his campaign and fundraising group. A self-declared billionaire, Trump has faced scrutiny and criticism for allowing his properties around the US and the world to charge the US government during his many visits.