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Education Secretary DeVos Gets Pricey Protection From US Marshals

U.S. marshals are protecting Education Secretary Betsy DeVos at a cost of about $1 million per month.
Posted at 5:49 PM, Apr 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-07 17:49:08-04

A lot has been made of how much it costs to protect President Trump and his family, but one of his cabinet members is getting a lot of additional protection as well.

The U.S. Marshals Service confirmed it'll protect Education Secretary Betsy DeVos at a cost of nearly $1 million per month for her first eight months in the position.

The Education Department will pay a projected $7.8 million for DeVos' protection, though a department spokesman said the actual figure could end up being smaller.

So far, DeVos is the only cabinet member with a marshal security detail. She's the first to get one since 2009. Other cabinet members are typically protected by officials in their own department.

This comes at a time when money will likely be harder to come by for the Education Department. President Trump indicated he wants to slash the department's budget by more than $9 billion.

The Washington Post reported that her marshal detail is expected to continue for the next four years. It's unclear if the Education Department will foot the bill that whole time.

DeVos got her new security detail after protesters tried to block her from entering a school. After that, marshals determined there was a safety threat, but they declined to say how serious it is.