Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner Deny Secret Service Bathroom Access, Costing Taxpayers $100,000

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner denied U.S. Secret Service agents access to their bathroom in Washington’s Kalorama neighborhood.

The Secret Service detail assigned to the couple has spent months searching for a reliable restroom to use on the job because they were specifically instructed not to use any of the half-dozens inside the couple’s house.

The agents would resort to using porta-potties or visiting the house of former president Barack Obama and Vice President Mike Pence to do their business.

“It’s the first time I ever heard of a Secret Service detail having to go to these extremes to find a bathroom,” said a law enforcement official familiar with the situation told the Washington Post.

However, since September 2017, the federal government has spent $3,000 a month to rent a basement studio, with a bathroom, from a Kushner family neighbor, so the agents have somewhere closer to use. The total spent is over $100,000 for the facilities.

White House spokesman Judd Deere denied that Trump and Kushner ever requested that their Secret Service detail not use the bathrooms in their home.

“When discussions regarding protecting their home were initially has in 2017, Ivanka and Jared made clear that their home would always be open to the incredible men and women on their detail,” Deere said. “It was only after a decision by the [Secret Service] was made that their detail sought other accommodations.”

“The Kushners have a tremendous amount of respect for their servicemen and women on their detail and for the United States Secret Service as a whole. Their home will always be open to them and they have immense gratitude for their service over the last four years,” Deere continued.

Arrangements for some distance between agents and those they guard is not unusual. People qualified for protection often have properties where a detail can use a garage, pool house, or other outbuildings as a command post, break room and bathroom.

From the porta-potties on the sidewalk to the commotion caused by agents, the Kushner’s neighbors are happy to see them go and want their quiet neighborhood back.

Article by Taylor Masi