The price of coming home: How much do President Biden's trips to Delaware cost the state?
It's no secret that President Joe Biden enjoys spending time in his home state.
He and first lady Jill Biden regularly visit their homes in Greenville and Rehoboth Beach, with the president often seen biking and going to church.
Though he's far from the first president to spend his weekends outside the White House, his regular trips to the First State raise some questions: Just how much time do the Bidens really spend in Delaware, and how much does it cost the state?
Visits to Delaware: The numbers
Biden has made 76 trips to Delaware since his inauguration, according to a tally by Delaware Online/The News Journal using the president's public calendar. Most were weekend visits to one of his homes, though some single-day visits were recorded as being for official business or attending funerals.
On average, Biden's trips lasted about three and a half days, with his longest recorded trip lasting for 11 days.
Overall, Biden has spent part or all of at least 265 days in Delaware since Jan. 20, 2021. Days in which the president arrived in Delaware at night or departed in the morning are included in the tally.
How much does it cost?
New Castle County spent more than $3.27 million on police and emergency medical services for Biden in the past three years, including for a few mid-to-late 2020 visits prior to his inauguration, according to data from the county.
The bulk of the money goes towards paying police, totaling almost $3.08 million worth of salaries and benefits. The rest of the budget goes towards paramedics, who follow the president in case of emergency.
When the president is at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, paramedics are paid for by Sussex County. A spokesperson for the county said that, in general, the county uses administrative personnel to avoid having paramedics work overtime.
There have been a few cases where additional field medics were needed, the spokesperson said, and overtime hours were logged.
In total, less than $2,500 in overtime has been paid to Sussex County EMS to cover presidential duties.
Where does the money come from?
The Criminal Justice Council applies for federal grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse local law enforcement agencies and others tasked with providing protection to the president while he's in town.
The council reviews all expenditures and related data with a "fine-toothed comb," a New Castle County spokesperson said, before submitting the grant application. Reimbursements are based on the federal fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 20, and are typically received a year after the expenses are submitted.
For the fiscal year ending in 2021, New Castle County received $930,859.47 in reimbursements for Biden's protection. The following year, the county was reimbursed $739,222.96, which it just received on Sept. 13.
Sussex County has not sought reimbursement for the overtime paramedic funding.
Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on Twitter at @h_edelman.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: President Joe Biden's trips to Delaware cost millions for police, EMS
