Secret Service Will Not Ease Rules When Trump Visits Mar-A-Lago

Two members of Congress from South Florida says the U.S. Secret Service has no plans to ease TFR restrictions during visits by President Trump to his Mar-a-Lago home in the region.

Congresswoman Lois Frankel (D-FL) and Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL) told the McClatchy News Service that the Secret Service has told them that the restrictions "are going to stay the way they are" ... and they were very clear on that point.

"It's not fair, but we got our answer ... from the Secret Service," Frankel said.

Trump has visited Mar-a-Lago three of the four weekends he has been in office. And while commercial air traffic is allowed to continue normally, smaller aviation operations, such as flight schools, are forced to shut down. That is causing a serious loss of revenue for businesses at Lantana Airport, which employs nearly 400 people and where some 350 private airplanes are based, according to the report.

Frankel said she has heard from some businesses who say they may be forced to close if the current pattern continues.

The VIP TFRs also affect about a dozen airports form Pompano Beach to Stuart, FL. Flight instruction, banner towing and sightseeing flights are all grounded or severely restricted within a 30 nautical mile radius of Mar-a-Lago when Trump visits.

The FAA has reported as many as 30 TFR violations during Presidential visits to south Florida.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.secretservice.gov