President Trump announced Monday evening the immediate termination of Secret Service protection for Hunter Biden and Ashley Biden, following reports of Hunter’s South African vacation during a scheduled civil court deposition.
The decision came after Trump was questioned about Hunter Biden’s taxpayer-funded security detail earlier in the day at the Kennedy Center, where he serves as board chairman. When asked about reports suggesting up to 18 Secret Service agents were protecting Hunter, Trump indicated he would review the situation that afternoon.
Making good on his statement, Trump took to Truth Social at 5 PM to announce the cancellation of protection services for both Biden children. The announcement highlighted the “ridiculous” nature of Hunter’s extensive security detail and similarly addressed Ashley Biden’s 13-agent protection team.
Previous investigations through Freedom of Information Act requests revealed substantial costs associated with Hunter Biden’s protection. During an 18-month period starting in 2021, while Hunter resided in Malibu, protection expenses exceeded $4.5 million. This included $30,000 monthly payments for agent accommodation.
While federal law guarantees lifetime Secret Service protection for former presidents and their spouses, security for adult children typically ends with the presidential term. Though recent presidents, including Biden, Trump, Obama, and Bush, have traditionally extended this coverage for up to six months post-presidency.
The announcement follows a pattern of Trump canceling discretionary federal protection for various officials during his second term, including former NIAID director Anthony Fauci, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former national security adviser John Bolton.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi acknowledged the directive, stating the agency would work with protective details and the White House to implement the changes as quickly as possible.
The timing of Trump’s decision coincided with controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s presence in South Africa during a scheduled deposition. The deposition was related to a lawsuit Hunter had filed against former Trump staffer Garrett Ziegler, regarding the alleged illegal hacking and distribution of photos from Hunter’s laptop.
Hunter recently requested to withdraw the case, citing significant debt and poor sales of his artwork and memoir. The judge approved the case’s dismissal while Hunter was already in Cape Town, prompting Ziegler to tell the New York Post that Hunter presumed his “daddy’s appointee” would rubber-stamp his request.
Ziegler opposed the case’s dismissal, demanding attorney fees and for Hunter to “cease lying about us and me, and just generally to shut the f**k up.”
In his announcement, Trump criticized Hunter’s choice of South Africa as a vacation destination, citing questioned human rights practices in the country. However, critics noted Trump’s support for other nations with controversial human rights records, such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. Hunter’s wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, is South African by birth.
The implementation timeline for removing Secret Service protection from the Biden children remains unclear, though the agency has confirmed it is actively working to comply with the presidential directive.