Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency canceled an apartment lease used by the Secret Service to protect Ashley Biden - but the Secret Service is pushing back.
As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, DOGE said it cancelled a lease for a 1,000 square foot apartment in Philadelphia, where Biden's daughter lives. Secret Service said it is unaware of changes to the lease, however.
"This Secret Service work site is essential to our operations and necessary to effectuate our protective functions,” agency spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said Monday.
All presidents and their spouses, and their children under 16 are entitled to Secret Service protection, but security can be extended.
Before he left office, former President Biden extended the protective detail for his daughter until July, an official told the Inquirer. The Secret Service said DOGE did not necessarily compromise her safety by sharing the lease information, but the lease agreement remains "essential" for Biden's protection.
"Disclosing the address of a Secret Service work site does not necessarily compromise security for a protectee,” Guglielmi said. “We are very cognizant of these possibilities and take all of it into consideration when developing our protective posture,” he added.
The DOGE website lists over 700 cancelled leases across different government agencies. Three of those leases are listed in Delaware, in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, where President Biden owns two homes.
The Delaware leases collectively add up to $1 million a year. The Philadelphia apartment for Ashley Biden's security detail cost taxpayers $36,348 every year.
The General Services Administration, which manages government real estate holdings and leases, said the Philadelphia and Wilmington leases are intact.
"None of the leases cited were flagged by GSA for termination,” GSA spokesperson Will Powell said. “Both the Philadelphia and Wilmington leases are intact until the end of their term.”
Ashley Biden, 43, is the only child of Joe Biden and Jill Biden. Ashley Biden's diary was infamously stolen in 2020, leading to the prosecution of two individuals who sold it to a conservative news outlet, Project Veritas.
The Justice Department in February said it would not bring charges against Project Veritas, which declined to publish the diary.
In the notebook, Ashley Biden described her troubles with sex and drugs - and mentioned "showers with dad" that she said were "probably not appropriate."
"I have always been boy crazy," she wrote. "Hyper-sexualized @ a young age. What is this due to? Was I molested. I think so – I can't remember specifics but I do remember trauma."
