There appears to be some confusion regarding U.S. Secret Service protective details for vice presidents once they leave office.
Many believed the details were a lifetime affair, but that's not accurate.
Presidents get lifetime protection, but the shelf life for vice presidential protection is only six months. And that's probably three months too long.
Naturally, Joe Biden never saw a government giveaway that he didn't want to extend.
Before he left office, Biden extended Kamala Harris' protection by one year.
That extension didn't last long under President Donald Trump's administration.
In August Trump ended the extension and it wasn't out of any sense of political pique either — although that would have been fine with us.
The Secret Service conducted an assessment of potential threats and found no credible threats to Harris' safety, other than possibly alcohol.
That was the jumping off point for a new controversy.
The "Iron Law of Anti'Trumpism" requires the left to do the exact opposite of whatever Trump proposes. Newsmax' Jim Mishler reports, "Former Vice President Kamala Harris now has a security detail of Los Angeles city police officers, according to local TV station KTTV, a development coming after President Donald Trump ended her extended Secret Service protection last month.
"As many as 11 officers from the LAPD Metropolitan Division have reportedly been reassigned from other cases to protect Harris."
This decision should have been particularly galling for Los Angeles taxpayers because Harris is scheduled to begin a book tour and the officers would have been traveling, too.
The Daily Mail reported last year that Harris was supposed to make upwards of $20 million for the memoire of her failed presidential campaign.
If Harris is that valuable as an author — and it goes without saying that we are unpersuaded — then her publisher can foot the bill for security, or she can pay for it herself.
Letting taxpayers off the hook.
We were not optimistic the situation would resolve itself in favor of the public.
After all, as we wrote here, Los Angeles is blessed with a city council that decided to save money by keeping civilian employees, who are reliable left wing voters, and cutting back on hiring police officers.
Then city officials backed off when criticized by police officers.
The LA Times has that story, "The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, criticized the move.
"Security for the former vice president is being provided by officers in a division meant to address crime in hard-hit areas, sources told The Times.
"'Pulling police officers from protecting everyday Angelenos to protect a failed presidential candidate who also happens to be a multi-millionaire . . . and who can easily afford to pay for her own security, is nuts,' its board of directors said.
"The statement continued, 'Mayor Karen Bass should tell Governor Newsom that if he wants to curry favor with Ms. Harris and her donor base, then he should open up his own wallet because LA taxpayers should not be footing the bill for this ridiculousness."
Lo and behold the criticism from cops, of all people, cowed the city.
"The Los Angeles Police Department on Saturday discontinued its protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris after heavy criticism within its own ranks that officers were being diverted from crime suppression, sources told The Times.
"LAPD Metropolitan Division officers had been assisting the California Highway Patrol in protecting Harris and were visible until Saturday morning outside her Brentwood home. . . . According to sources, those Metro officers had to be drawn away from crime suppression work in the San Fernando Valley this week."
Unfortunately, this is only a partial victory for taxpayers.
The highway patrol under Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., still provides babysitting for Harris. And that may indeed continue until all the Harris' donors are on board with a Newsom in '28 presidential campaign.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.