Worry not, lefties: Former Vice President Kamala Harris won’t be getting Secret Service protection from Washington anymore, but those of you still left in Los Angeles and the rest of California will be paying for her security.
According to KTTV-TV, Harris will be receiving protection from an elite division of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Metro Division after President Donald Trump revoked her Secret Service protection earlier this week.
The decision was announced Thursday, essentially overturning a previously unknown Biden administration decision that allowed her and family to receive protection to 18 months instead of the usual six months veeps are entitled to.
However, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ended that agreement with a memo: “You are hereby authorized to discontinue any security-related procedures previously authorized by Executive Memorandum, beyond those required by law, for the following individual, effective September 1, 2025: Former Vice President Kamala D. Harris.”
This still extends it beyond the period that would have ordinarily been covered by the rule, which would have given her protection until July 21.
The order came as KTTV noted that “Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom… criticized the decision, with Bass calling it an act of ‘political retaliation’ and Newsom stating that the safety of public officials should not be subject to ‘vindictive political impulses.’”
So, Bass and Co. did what they’re best at: Putting your money where their mouth is. KTTV reported that “officers have been pulled from working cases to provide Harris protection after President Donald Trump ended former President Biden’s extension of her Secret Service coverage.”
“This is another act of revenge following a long list of political retaliation in the form of firings, the revoking of security clearances and more. This puts the former Vice President in danger and I look forward to working with the Governor to make sure Vice President Harris is safe in Los Angeles,” Bass said in a statement.
She’s also been afforded California Highway Patrol protection by the state, according to KCAL-TV. It’s unclear who will be doing the majority of the heavy lifting, with an LAPD spokeswoman telling KNBC-TV it would mostly be the CHP.
Was Trump right to pull Kamala Harris’ Secret Service protection?
“The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is assisting the CHP in providing protective services for former Vice President Kamala Harris until an alternate plan is established. This temporary coordinated effort is in place to ensure that there is no lapse in security,” Jennifer Forkish said.
However, KCAL seemed to indicate a significant portion of this will fall upon Los Angeles’ most prized units.
“The Metropolitan Division contains LAPD’s specialized units, including the citywide Tactical Response Teams, which provide security at high-profile events such as the awards shows in LA. LAPD’s website states that TRT has worked closely with the Secret Service and the Department of State to provide protection to the president, vice president and foreign dignitaries,” the CBS affiliate noted.
Whatever the case, even the Associated Press tacitly admitted that there wasn’t a reason for Harris to receive Secret Service protection beyond the statutory period afforded to former veeps:
A recent threat intelligence assessment the Secret Service conducts on those it protects, such as Harris, found no red flags or credible evidence of a threat to the former vice president, said a White House official who also insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The administration found no reason Harris’ protection should go beyond the standard six-month period for former vice presidents, the official said.
Trump’s vice president from his first term, Mike Pence, did not have extended Secret Service protection beyond the standard six months.
Still, it is not unusual for Secret Service protection to continue well beyond the statutory six-month window, particularly when former officials face credible and ongoing threats. But Trump’s decisions to revoke the protection have stood out both for timing and for targets. [Emphasis ours.]
Remember how there was supposed to be a “credible threat” to Pence from the Jan. 6 incursion folks? At that point, the left was still holding him up as a brave resistor to a right determined to get even with him … but not so determined that he still needed Secret Service protection.
However, Harris needs it because … well, emoji-shrug. If you don’t give it to her, it’s bad timing and targets, etc.
Whatever the case, the move comes as Harris’ memoir of her time on the campaign trail is about to be released — “107 Days,” so named because that’s how long she spent spreading joy and vibes as the frontrunner or nominee for the Democrats last year, only to find out that it was either too little or too much joy and vibes for the rest of America. (I’m betting on the latter.)
I mention this because it seemed to be mentioned in every report, as well; we are apparently to expect that the Secret Service are to be at the beck and call of a former nominee for her book tour. That’s not quite how it works.
However, if California wants to pay for it, cool. It’s only right that the profligate state that bore us this empty pantsuit continue to support her in her post-veepdom, even in the absence of credible threats. If only it were to protect its own residents with such zeal, we’d be set.
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