He raised his fist and greeted the crowd at the White House, saying, “This is a great honor, an honor of a lifetime.” He then boarded a Marine One helicopter in the direction of the Andrews Air Force Base a few miles away for a farewell ceremony for his supporters on the inauguration day of his successor Joe Biden. From there he took the plane to Florida, which supported him to the end.
One thing is for sure: he will not leave empty-handed. The Ex-Presidential Act, the law for former presidents of the United States, was passed in 1958 and amended several times. It offers a number of life benefits to retired presidents – those who have not been removed from office under Article 2, Section 4 of the US Constitution, subject to dismissal.
This law was meant to fill a gap. Previously, the US federal government did not grant pensions or other rights to former presidents. In 1912, businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie proposed an annual pension of $ 25,000 (more than $ 600,000 today) for former presidents, but members of Congress questioned the legitimacy of such private pensions. This forced the electorate to reflect and legislate to provide benefits to former presidents. In 1958, when the FPA came into force, Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman was the only one alive. The first died in 1964, at the age of 90, and the second in 1972, at the age of 88.
Lifetime protection from secret service
First, the league guaranteed lifelong security from the president’s security service. After 1994 and 1996, it was reduced to 10 years for the current president. But in 2012 Congress amended the rule: all former presidents and vice presidents have the right to lifetime protection from the secret service. Children have the right to protection up to the age of 16.
Richard Nixon, who died in 1994, was the only president to abandon secret service security in 1985 to “save American taxpayers dollars.” Security is $ 1 million a year for the president and $ 500,000 for the wife.
Gold-plated retreat
In a short video posted on his Twitter account after a question and answer session at Twitter’s New York headquarters, Donald Trump announced on September 21, 2015: “I will give up my salary if I become president.” The millionaire estimated that he could do without 000 400,000 per year, provided by law. What he did, he sent to various ministries on a quarterly basis from 2017 to 2019. Before him, Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy dropped his salary as president. Donald Trump has not commented on the pension.
In practice, the Secretary of the Treasury (equivalent to the Minister of Finance) pays a taxable pension equal to the salary of former presidents. In 2012, it was 9,219,200 per year.
The pension will be paid as soon as the president leaves. If he or she deducts any other statutory pension, the spouse may receive an annual life pension of $ 20,000. But do they really need it? Bill Clinton, George W.. We know that Bush and Barack Obama have gone from conferences, books and documentaries produced for Netflix to “money making machines”.
An office and staff
General Services Administration (GSA), U.S. The government agency helps manage and operate other federal bodies, employs offices, and pays employees appointed by the former president.
Employees should be accountable only to the President for the performance of his duties. Each former president sets a salary of no more than $ 150,000 a year for the first 30 years and then $ 96,000. The president may also appoint employees who are paid from private funds.
In 2019, the budget allocated to the four former presidents was $ 3.9 million. In December, Congress approved an additional $ 500,000 to take Donald Trump into account, according to Roll Call, a newspaper that specializes in congressional and Washington issues.
Medical insurance
Former presidents have the right to health insurance for military hospitals. This insurance is paid for at a level set by the Office of Management and Budget, which is tasked with assisting the President in preparing the budget. Two-term presidents can enroll in health insurance under the federal employee health plan.
Building to visit in Washington
Donald Trump, who decided to leave Washington with a Trump hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue that he never loved, is unlikely to one day stay at President Downhouse. Jackson Place no. 796, a stone was thrown from the White House, the building is owned by the U.S. government and has only been allocated for the benefit of former U.S. presidents since 1969. The five-storey building has two dining rooms, several rooms and a space for the Secret Service office.
A presidential library to tell “his” story
Like his predecessors, Donald Trump will have to deal with the creation of his presidential library. After Calvin Coolidge’s two terms (between 1923 and 1929), all presidents created a place where all documents, records, and historical objects obtained during their tenure could be stored and accessed. They are managed by the Bureau of Presidential Libraries, which is part of the National Archives and Registry Administration (NARA).
Prior to his departure, Donald Trump discussed plans for a library and a two-billion-dollar Baron’s budget for a library and a fundraiser, according to The Washington Post. But Donald Trump is not just any president. He is “alternative realities”. “Will they mention the two dismissal processes of the epidemic and its role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol?”, CNN asked. In his presidential library he tries to imagine that “part of the wall with Mexico may be Kim Jong-un’s letters” (The New York) Times.
It remains to be seen what Donald Trump will do in Florida. Will he play golf, start a TV station, predict if he will fail in 2016, is he ready to return in 2024, or will he send the baton to his children Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr.? Before boarding Air Force One on the villagers’ “YMCA” song, Donald Trump said: “We’ll be back one way or another.” It depends on the legal consequences of the investigations against him.
