Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors has asked the sheriff’s office to gather information detailing how much is spent when deputies provide assistance to the U.S. Secret Service, during President Donald Trump’s visits to his Loudoun County golf club.
During the supervisors’ May 6 meeting, Algonkian Supervisor Juli Briskman asked whether the sheriff’s office is being reimbursed for services provided during the president’s visits to Trump International Golf Course in Lowes Island, in the Sterling area of the Virginia county.
“The short answer is no, we are not being reimbursed for that,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Sawyer. “We have asked, in writing, and we will continue to ask, because the resources are significant.”
Local jurisdictions, including D.C., have long sought reimbursement from the federal government for police and fire department services that are provided when the president is present. Congress is considering a bill to allow the Secret Service to reimburse local first responder agencies.
“As of right now, we have been told that there is no funding mechanism to be able to be reimbursed, but we continue to ask that question,” Sawyer said. “Our overtime budget is not designed to support this.”
Vice Chair Michael Turner asked what would happen if the county chose not to provide protective services for the president: “Is there some legal obligation that local law enforcement has to reinforce the president’s golf games?” Turner asked.
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“We have provided presidential support to every sitting president, based on what the United States Secret Service has requested,” Sawyer said. “That does not mean they get everything, because there hits a point where we say, no, we can’t provide certain levels because it becomes too much.”
Sawyer added, “It’s a difficult position. I don’t know that the federal government can require us to do that, however security in Loudoun County property is something we take pretty seriously, and the last thing we want is an incident occurring in Loudoun County.”
Contacted by WTOP, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service said: “State and local law enforcement play a crucial role in our ability to effectively safeguard Secret Service protectees, and we are grateful for their support. ”
“The Secret Service does not have the authority or a mechanism to directly reimburse local governments for assistance,” said Guglielmi. “However, we continue to work together with the Administration and Congress to explore solutions for this vital need.”
Sawyer said the sheriff’s office weighs each request to see “what we can reasonably do from a manpower perspective, from an intelligence perspective.”
Briskman and Board Chair Phyllis Randall asked Sawyer to forward the sheriff office’s report on how much is being spent on presidential security, for the board’s information in preparing future budgets.
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