Former United States president Donald Trump has reportedly sent a bill of over $40,000 to the Secret Service - a federal law enforcement agency - for using rooms at his premier resort Mar-a-Lago for his own protection.
Documents obtained by The Washington Post revealed that Trump levied a charge of $396.15 per night since January 20, when he left the White House.
The same per-day charge has been levied till April 30, as Trump has been staying at his Palm Beach, Florida-based resort throughout the period. The cumulative bill amounted to $40,011.15, the federal spending records showed.
The expenditure details were shared with The Washington Post after the newspaper filed a public-records request before the Secret Service. The details have stirred up a controversy over Trump's practice of levying a high charge for his own security.
The federal spending records earlier obtained by the newspaper showed Trump had billed his own government $2.5 billion for the security provided to him during his presidency.
The cost, ultimately borne by the taxpayers, is considered to be unprecedently high as compared to that incurred on Trump's predecessors.
Another White House official who has come distantly close to Trump, in this regard, is incumbent US President Joe Biden. Between 2011 and 2017 - the period that includes his tenure as the vice president in Barack Obama administration - Biden had levied a monthly charge of $2,200 on the Secret Service for the use of a cottage at his Delaware-based property, the report said. The cumulative bill, for the six-year period, reportedly amounted to $171,600.