Mike Pence took heat when he broke COVID-19 safety recommendations to hit the slopes at Vail last year for a Colorado family ski vacation while he was vice president. Now it turns out that he also broke the bank, sticking the public with a $757,000 tab in Secret Service costs alone, according to a watchdog group.
The spread of COVID-19 among Secret Service agents was a concern in an administration notably lax about health safeguards. Career Secret Service staff even suggested an investigation into the issue by Joseph Cuffari, the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. But Cuffari, a Trump appointee, opted not to look into it, according to records obtained by the Project on Government Oversight. Cuffari was reportedly worried that findings about coronavirus cases among agents might reflect badly on the Trump administration.
Trump was harshly criticized after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and opted to take a tour in his presidential car with Secret Service agents to hail supporters outside Walter Reed hospital, where he was being treated. Attending physician Dr. James Phillips slammed Trump then about risking agents’ lives for “political theater.”
A spokesperson for the inspector general told the Post that officials determined that investigative resources would be better used elsewhere, but did not specify where.
This content was originally published here.