Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
Education Secretary Besty DeVos is receiving security protection from the US Marshall Service to the tune of nearly $1 million a month, according to newly released information.
The Marshall Service released a statement on Friday that said after a threat assessment was conducted in February it was determined that DeVos would be given additional protection, according the Associated Press.
The total cost for a security detail assigned to DeVos from February through September is expected to reach $7.78 million — nearly $1 million a month.
The Marshall service said the cost will ultimately be covered by the Education Department, which said the figure was a projected, and not a final, cost.
DeVos is currently the only cabinet official receiving protection, according the Washington Post, which first reported this story.
The billionaire, charter school advocate's nomination to the role of education secretary in the Trump administration was met with widespread criticism by those who feared she would weaken public schools.
When some Republicans joined Democrats to oppose her confirmation in the US Senate, Vice President Mike Pence was forced to cast a historic tie-breaking vote.
Protesters outside Jefferson Middle School in Washington, DC, in February.
Maria Danilova / AP
The threat assessment on DeVos was conducted after protestors blocked her from entering a public school in February.
The controversial education secretary was eventually able to get into the building, after she was confronted by protesters at a DC school.
The incident occurred just two days into her tenure as secretary of education.
As a man threw himself in front of a staircase leading into the school, DeVos was forced return to her car, with a small number of protesters chasing after her.
DeVos and her husband, Dick, are billionaires, and their marriage brought together two massive Midwestern family fortunes.
During her confirmation hearing, DeVos said that her family had likely given around $200 million to Republican causes.
LINK: For A Glimpse At The Billionaire Class, Check Out Betsy DeVos's Finances
LINK: Betsy DeVos Is Confirmed As Education Secretary, Thanks To An Unprecedented Tie-Breaking Vote
LINK: Protesters Blocked Betsy DeVos From Entering A Public School
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2octJJB
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