You won’t hear it from the corporate media, but former Vice President Kamala Harris has already had a longer Secret Service detail than other former vice presidents. President Donald Trump ended that on Friday before she could leech more American taxpayer dollars on a multi-city book tour to talk about her failed presidential campaign.
Former vice presidents are entitled to six months of Secret Service protection after they leave office. For Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, that ended July 21 just like hers was supposed to. But former President Joe Biden (or an autopen) quietly signed an order extending Harris’ detail to 18 months, for reasons unknown.
“You are hereby authorized to discontinue any security-related procedures previously authorized by Executive Memorandum, beyond those required by law, for the following individual, effective September 1, 2025: Former Vice President Kamala D. Harris,” Trump’s directive states.
Trump reestablished the statutory norm under the Former Vice Presidents Act of 2008, more than a month after her detail should have stopped, but Democrats and their accomplices in the propaganda press want Americans to believe it was done out of vengeance.
“This is another act of revenge following a long list of political retaliation in the form of firings, the revoking of security clearances and more,” communist Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN. “This puts the former Vice President in danger and I look forward to working with the Governor to make sure Vice President Harris is safe in Los Angeles.”
Clearly no more danger than former vice presidents Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, or, yes, even Joe Biden were in after their terms expired. She, like them, will no longer receive 24/7 personal security, security at her home, or threat analysis for online threats from the Secret Service.
But according to one MSNBC commentator, “It is retributive,” and Trump made the move “just because he doesn’t like Vice President Kamala Harris.”
“It speaks to how Donald Trump operates. He use the government to deal with his own personal animosity with people,” the commentator said.
But the thrust of Trump’s move is that Harris is not some select, special former vice president. And although CNN is worried “the cost of mounting any similar level of protection privately would be expensive, possibly going into the millions of dollars annually,” perhaps she can hire private security, if she needs it, like everyone else in her position has the opportunity to do — paid for by book proceeds or her substantial net worth, not the American people.
CNN wants Americans to believe that maybe Harris should be treated as an exception to the rule because she is black or a female, writing, “Harris, according to people familiar with her security operations, faced particular security concerns given that she was the first woman and first Black woman in the role.”
Bob Salladay, a spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., added highly exaggerated fuel to the fire, telling CNN that “the safety of our public officials should never be subject to erratic, vindictive political impulses.”
NBC echoed CNN’s hysteria: “The decision, first reported by CNN, is among a number of actions Trump and his administration have taken to target people who worked for the Biden administration.”
Unsurprisingly, Democrats and corporate media stenographers simply want their friends to have special treatment.
Thankfully, Trump’s order ensures the American people do not have to subsidize whatever future political campaign or influencer role for which Harris is currently laying the groundwork.
Breccan F. Thies is a correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.