Trump pulls Biden children's Secret Service detail 'effective immediately'

Emily Bloch, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Mar 18, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he was ending the security details for Hunter and Ashley Biden “effective immediately.” Trump also publicized Hunter Biden’s vacation whereabouts.

Trump’s declaration came a day after the New York Post — an outlet he follows and reposts articles from often — published an opinion piece criticizing Hunter Biden’s vacation in South Africa and the cost of his security detail. Secret Service protection for former President Joe Biden’s adult children was supposed to last through July.

Former U.S. presidents and their spouses retain lifelong protection from the Secret Service, while their children have protection until they turn 17. But the services are often extended for children, along with grandchildren and other immediate family members, once a president’s term has ended. Outgoing Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush extended protection for their families, and Trump extended his children’s and grandchildren’s protections when his first term ended in 2021.

The move by Trump to end the Biden children’s Secret Service protections is unsurprising to those familiar with his longtime focus on Joe Biden and his family, especially his son, Hunter.

In 2020, Trump reportedly fantasized about having a special prosecutor investigate Hunter Biden’s business dealings. Trump appointment David C. Weiss was in charge of the ongoing investigations and was ultimately named special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe. Hunter Biden was found guilty of federal gun charges last year.

As the New York Times phrased it, Trump has been on a “revenge tour” since his return to the Oval Office and has exerted his power on multiple occasions to revoke Secret Service protection from his “perceived enemies.” Such concerns are part of what motivated Joe Biden to issue an unconditional full pardon for Hunter Biden at the end of his presidency in January.

“Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. “Likewise, Ashley Biden … will be taken off the list.”

The news comes about a week after the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency said it was canceling a lease for a Philadelphia apartment used by the Secret Service to provide security details for Ashley Biden. The move was one of DOGE’s 700 terminated agreements, the agency said, as part of an effort to cut the size of the federal government.

But the alleged lease cancellation has discrepancies. The Secret Service said last week it was unaware of changes to the Philadelphia lease or changes to Ashley Biden’s protective detail.

As for the legitimacy of Trump’s cancellation of the Biden children’s protective detail, as president, Trump has the power to end Secret Service assignments. When Trump’s first term ended, Biden extended protections to Trump’s adult children for six months.

A Biden family representative did not respond to a request for comment.

“We are aware of the President’s decision to terminate protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. “The Secret Service will comply and is actively working with the protective details and the White House to ensure compliance as soon as possible.”

Guglielmi declined to comment on specifics, including timelines or additional details surrounding the status of the apartment for Ashley Biden’s security.