A petition calling upon First Lady Melania Trump to either move to the White House or foot the bill for living in Trump Tower out of her own pocket has reached almost a quarter-of-a-million signatures.
“The U.S. taxpayer is paying an exorbitant amount of money to protect the First Lady in Trump Tower, located in New York City,” the petition, posted on Change.org, states. “As to help relieve the national debt, this expense yields no positive results for the nation and should be cut from being funded.”
The First Lady has remained in New York City with her son Barron, reportedly to finish out his school year, while the President has relocated to the nation’s capitol. The petition will be delivered to Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders if and when it reaches 300,000 signatures.
Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill estimated in February that it costs the New York City Police Department between $127,000 and $146,000 per day to provide protection for Melania and Barron, the New York Times reports. It cost New York City $24 million to provide security at Trump Tower from Election Day to Inauguration Day.
As of February, the federal government had reimbursed New York City for $7 million of these costs, according to the Times.
