United States President Donald Trump took his 12th golfing trip this weekend since he assumed the presidency in January over nine weeks ago, and estimates state that his trips may have cost $36 million to American taxpayers already.
The US President, on Saturday, left for the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, marking his eighth consecutive weekend visit to a Trump-owned property, according to NBC News reports.
According to an analysis by Politico, each of these holiday trips undertaken by Trump costs $3 million, and estimates suggest that his golfing trips alone may have already cost the taxpayer $36 million.
Ever since Trump released his 2018 budget proposal suggesting massive cuts to varying agencies, critics have pointed out that if the President were to cut back on his weekend holidays, the Trump administration may not have to impose such huge cuts on some of them, including the arts and social security budget.
When White House Press Secretary was asked whether Trump plans on reducing the frequency of his weekend trips to save taxpayer money, Sean Spicer responded with "presidents always travel."
"The President will continue to go and travel around the country and have meetings to solve the nation's problems," Spicer said.
A tweet posted by a CNN journalist on Tuesday showed that the Secret Service has spent $16,000 so far on golf cart rentals for Trump trips to Mar-a-Lago alone.
The Secret Service has spent $16k so far on golf cart rentals for Trump trips to Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/Pgje6S1LBh
— Nathaniel Meyersohn (@nmeyersohn) March 26, 2017
Florida Democrats have posed an objection to Trump's trips to his Mar-a-Lago estate stating that the President's frequent visits are imposing "financial burden" on the state.
Representative Lois Franckel (D-Fla) has reportedly asked the White House to provide financial reimbursements to the local governments who are incurring increased security costs every time he visits the region. Franckel also provided an alternative stating that Trump could cut back on his trips to his resort.
The Democrat lawmakers state that Trump's visits to Mar-a-Lago to date have cost $1.7 million in overtime work paid by the the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department and Fire Rescue and $60,000 in overtime to the City of West Palm Beach law enforcement handling protests.
They also stated that every time the President visits, flight schools, banner flying and sightseeing businesses get affected as a result, keeping Trump's security in mind.
"While we want the fullest protection for your visits, we hope you would be responsive to the losses of small businesses and residents of Palm Beach County," Frankel wrote in a letter to Trump.
The letter was co-signed by fellow Democratic Florida Reps. Alcee Hastings and Ted Deutch.
