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Trump won to change Palm Beach security

Online Niel November 7, 2024

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What’s next for security around President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach?

To understand what residents can expect in the coming months and years as Trump heads toward his second term in the White House, there is precedent: Trump’s previous four years as president.

However, sources previously told the Daily News that while the past is a good indication of what’s to come, security could be tighter this time around.

More frequent visits are possible

During his first two years in the White House, Trump’s permanent residence was in New York.

That changed in 2019, when he and First Lady Melania Trump declared Palm Beach their home by filing a domicile statement with the Palm Beach Clerk’s office.

Until last year, Trump primarily spent weekends at Mar-a-Lago during the Palm Beach social season, arriving for longer visits during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays.

As he campaigned over the past year, Trump spent more and more time at his Palm Beach home. Where it used to be difficult to spend more than a few days a summer at Mar-a-Lago, he preferred Palm Beach to New York and his Bedminster, NJ golf club, where he usually spent most of his time . during the summer months.

Between now and his inauguration in January, a Trump aide told The Palm Beach Post that Trump will manage his transition from Mar-a-Lago.

After his inauguration, Trump may spend more time at the White House during the week. But he is expected to visit on weekends and prefer trips to Mar-a-Lago to trips to the presidential retreat at Camp David, as he did during his first term as president.

Traffic and road closures

One of the biggest questions Palm Beach residents, business owners and visitors have been asking in recent days has been: What’s next for South Ocean Boulevard?

The road has been closed, first completely and then intermittently, since July 20, when the US Secret Service ordered it shut down from the southern roundabout at South Boulevard to the intersection with South County Road. The move followed the July 13 assassination attempt at Trump’s campaign rally that injured the presidential candidate and two of his supporters and left another dead.

When originally announced, the Southern Ocean was to be completely closed around the clock every day until at least the November 5 general election. The Secret Service, Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announced an agreement in August to reopen the road when Trump is away long enough that it makes logistical and security sense to remove control points. officials said.

Residents and businesses in the area blocked by the road closure must enter through the north checkpoint at South County Road, and only emergency vehicles can travel through the south checkpoint.

A former Secret Service agent told the Daily News earlier this year that South Ocean Boulevard should have been closed as soon as Trump was elected, citing major security concerns about how close vehicles could get to Mar- a-Lago when passing on South Ocean Boulevard. .

Another security expert told the Daily News that if Trump wins a second term in the White House, officials may have to consider a more permanent option near Mar-a-Lago to provide protection in every day, even when Trump isn’t there.

During Trump’s first term, periodic road closures fractured Palm Beach. Business owners decried the lack of traffic in Midtown, and people complained of hours-long delays at the Royal Park Bridge. It’s unclear what will happen between now and Inauguration Day, but residents can expect that as Trump transitions from Mar-a-Lago, there will be few moments when South Ocean Boulevard can open.

Donald Trump supporters react to the 2024 election results near Mar-a-Lago

Palm Beach Trump supporters gathered to celebrate his victory on the bridge near Mar-a-Lago, which increased security the night after the election.

Air traffic from Palm Beach International

During Trump’s first term as president, the Federal Aviation Administration diverted air traffic away from Mar-a-Lago to protect the airspace above the Palm Beach property when Trump was there.

The FAA issued temporary flight restrictions that prevented all but essential air travel in the area and prevented planes from taking off and landing at the Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport on Lantana Road – nearly decommissioning that unit. A banner business that operated for a decade out of Lantana Airport ceased operations in 2017 because of restrictions.

Flight restrictions were implemented over Mar-a-Lago after July 13 when Trump is there, but they were not as strict as when he was in the White House. It’s unclear how the FAA will proceed with those flight restrictions now that Trump has been elected.

Coast Guard Restrictions

Those who regularly pass by Mar-a-Lago by boat will know in recent weeks that there has been increased security in the waters surrounding the property.

During Trump’s first term, the US Coast Guard had its first temporary security zones until 2018, when the agency implemented permanent security zones around Mar-a-Lago that prevented boaters from entering the waterway Intracoastal, the closest to the club when Trump was home. Boats could cross but not stop in the Intracoastal, further west of Mar-a-Lago and just east of the Atlantic Ocean estate.

The Coast Guard announced in August that would reimplement those security zones temporarily during Trump’s visits to Palm Beach. The security areas also include changes to the opening hours for the three bridges that connect West Palm Beach to Palm Beach.

When Trump is home, the Flagler Memorial and Southern Boulevard bridges have similar opening hours:

Monday to Friday: From 7:30 to 9:00, the bridge will open every quarter of an hour; from 9:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., the bridge will open for a quarter of an hour and three quarters; from 14:15 to 18, the bridge will open every quarter of an hour; and from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., the bridge will open for a quarter and three-quarter hours.
Saturday, Sunday and federal holidays: the bridge will open at quarter to three.

The Southern Boulevard Bridge may also close without notice to allow rolling runs through, the Coast Guard said. Because the bridges’ opening hours are staggered, the Royal Park Bridge’s schedule when Trump is in town differs from the other two bridges’ schedules:

Monday through Friday: From 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., the bridge will open every half hour; from 9:00 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., the bridge will open every hour and a half; from 14:15 to 18, the bridge will open every half hour; and from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., the bridge will open every hour and a half.
Saturday, Sunday and federal holidays: The bridge will open on the hour and half hour.

Protection costs

Trump’s first 27 visits to Mar-a-Lago as president cost local governments and law enforcement an estimated $13.7 million. The Palm Beach Post reported in November 2020.

Since July, when security around Trump was increased, Palm Beach has spent about $3,600 a day, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office has spent an average of $93,000 a day to protect Trump when he is in Mar -a-Lago, according to a September letter sent by local officials to members of the US Congress which represents Palm Beach County.

Officials told the Daily News that a second term in the White House for Trump would result in additional costs.

During Trump’s first term, Palm Beach County and New York officials worked with the federal government to create a grant program — the Presidential Residence Protection Assistance Grant — that reimbursed state and local government for the costs of enforcing laws that grew as agencies worked to protect a session. president who has frequently visited several personal properties, some of which are in high-traffic areas such as Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach and Trump Tower in New York.

The grant is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The records show the amount budgeted for the grant each year has fallen since Trump left office, from $41 million available each year in 2017-20 to $12.7 million in 2021, to $3 million a year in 2022 and 2023.

It is unclear how much will be budgeted for the government’s next fiscal year.