Trump extended Secret Service protection for 13 members of his family as he left office

Added security detail will be deployed for six more months, and cost tax payers millions

Thirteen members of the Trump family have been handed Secret Service protection by the departing US president Donald Trump.

A source told The Washington Post that Mr Trump issued a directive in his final days in office that extended security to the close family circle once he left office on Wednesday.

They will receive the extra security detail for a further six months under the directive, having been in receipt of the 24-hours-a-day security detail for the past four years.

According to the source, who spoke with anonymity, Mr Trump wanted the protection extended for every Trump family member who had been receiving the taxpayer-funded protection during his presidency.

They would otherwise have not been eligible for the protection, which is typically afforded to presidents and their immediate family after leaving office.

Under federal law, Melania Trump and son Barron are the only immediate Trump family eligible for Secret Service protection.

As the former president’s spouse, Ms Trump is entitled to lifetime protection alongside her husband, while their 14-year-old son Barron is entitled until he turns 16 years-old, the Post reported.

Under Mr Trump’s directive, the Secret Service security detail will continue for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and their three children, who are also set to relocate to Florida with him.

Donald Trump Jr and his five children, as well as the outgoing president’s daughter Tiffany Trump, and son Eric Trump and his wife Lara, will also receive extended Secret Service protection.

While presidents are able to appoint Secret Service protection to anyone they choose to after leaving office, no president in recent history has done so for as many people as Mr Trump.

The security, which comes at a cost of many millions to tax payers, was also deployed to protect president Joe Biden and his family, after he was sworn in as Mr Trump’s successor. 

Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush extended protection for their children after leaving office, who were then college-aged, while Barack Obama sought extended protection for his two daughters, who were school-aged when he left office, the Post reported.