Secret Service renting $3K a month apartment near Ivanka and Jared for bathrooms, office space: report

Secret Service agents assigned to senior White House advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have reportedly been renting a $3,000 per month studio apartment at taxpayer expense in order to have bathroom access and office space near the couple’s home.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that agents were instructed not to use any of the half-dozen bathrooms inside the Kalorama home, located in Northwest Washington, and tried multiple solutions including using the bathroom at Vice President Pence’s residence located a little more than half a mile away as well as a port-a-potty.

In 2017, the detail began renting a neighbor’s basement studio apartment to solve the problem, the Post reports. With a rent of $3,000 a month, the detail has spent upward of $100,000 on the space, according to the newspaper.

CNN, citing a source with knowledge of the service’s activities, reported that the apartment offered bathroom access for agents but also provided office space with Internet, a printer and an area for agents to take breaks following long shifts.

A Secret Service spokesperson told CNN that “Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have not denied Secret Service personnel access to their home to include use of the restroom.”

“The Secret Service makes every effort, particularly at a residence, to conduct protective operations with minimum impact on a household. In accordance with this practice, Secret Service personnel do not request access to the facilities at private residences,” the spokesperson said.

“This is just another false narrative,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “When discussions regarding protecting their home were initially had in 2017, Ivanka and Jared made clear that their home would always be open to the incredible men and women on their detail. It was only after a decision by the USSS was made that their detail sought other accommodations.”

The spokesperson went on to explain that the family has the utmost respect for their security detail.

“The Kushners have a tremendous amount of respect for the servicemen and women on their detail and for the United States Secret Service as a whole,” they added. “Their home will always be open to them and they have immense gratitude for their service over the last four years.”

The Post noted that arrangements that allow those under protection to retain some privacy are not unusual, but typically some sort of guest house restroom is available for agents to use.

When the Kushners moved in, neighbors in the upscale Washington neighborhood expressed displeasure over the impact the family and their Secret Service detail had on the neighborhood, claiming they had “completely taken over the whole street.”

“It is every bit as disruptive as if a very active business was allowed to come into this residential neighborhood,” neighbor Marti Robinson previously said.

– This story was updated Jan. 15 at 4:40 p.m. with additional information.