Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has sparked a dispute after it tried to slash an apartment lease for Secret Service agents protecting Former President Joe Biden’s daughter.
DOGE’s website showed that it ended a rental agreement for a 1,000 square-foot Philadelphia apartment where the Secret Service was residing. The apartment was one of 700 other leases that DOGE has attempted to cancel as part of its crusade to downsize the federal government.
The unit, however, was around the corner from Biden’s 43-year-old daughter Ashley, who is set to be protected until July—and was the apparent resting place for her protection detail.
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Biden issued an executive memorandum that gave Ashley protection past his term.
Trump also issued a similar order when he left office in 2021, extending protection for his four adult children and three Cabinet officials for six months.
Typically, former presidents and first ladies are protected by Secret Service for life, but their children are not guaranteed protection after they turn 16.
The Secret Service said Monday that they were not aware of any changes to the lease. They added that the apartment was critical for agents protecting Ashley and Jill Biden.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said Monday that the work site “is essential to our operations and necessary to effectuate our protective functions.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Trump administration and Biden family for comment.
The apartment in question isn’t the only one potentially slashed by DOGE cuts. Leases for agencies like the FDA, IRS, Social Security Administration and more have also been axed nationwide. The website shows at least a half-dozen other canceled Secret Service leases. Musk’s DOGE even canceled three in Delaware, where other members of Biden’s family live—though two of the three leases canceled had already been nixed in November as Biden ended his term.
The General Services Administration (GSA) typically manages U.S. government leases, but said it plays no role in canceling those used by the Secret Service.
“None of the leases cited were flagged by GSA for termination, spokesperson Will Powell said. ”Both the Philadelphia and Wilmington leases are intact until the end of their term."
The apparent lease cancellation is just one part of DOGE’s quest to downsize the federal government. The panel, ostensibly helmed by Musk, claims that it cut $500 million worth of leases in recent weeks. The apartment in Philadelphia cost taxpayers around $36,000 per year.
This isn’t the only time the Trump administration has sought to revoke Secret Service protection, either. The president canceled a security detail for his prior national security adviser John Bolton, who in recent weeks has become an anti-Trump pundit.
Bolton was initially protected by the Secret Service because he received death threats from individuals in Iran.
