--- title: Bernie Sanders Still Has Expensive Secret Service Protection description: Bernie Sanders, who has not yet officially bowed out of the presidential race, is still being protected by U.S. Secret Service agents. canonical: https://time.com/4374236/bernie-sanders-secret-service/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-19T16:38:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:44:51.140Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bernie Sanders Still Has Expensive Secret Service Protection og:description: It can cost taxpayers more than $38,000 a day og:url: https://time.com/4374236/bernie-sanders-secret-service/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16605697044d0a7d/6988987ecd1bba2c7c701293/sanders-secret-service.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Nevada Democrats Caucus og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bernie Sanders Still Has Expensive Secret Service Protection twitter:description: It can cost taxpayers more than $38,000 a day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16605697044d0a7d/6988987ecd1bba2c7c701293/sanders-secret-service.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bernie Sanders Still Has Expensive Secret Service Protection > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7654c395-23b1-465d-a08a-fe6c271a77b8&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jun 19, 2016 4:38 PM UTC  Secret Service guards the stage as presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters during the Bernie 2016 Nevada Caucus Watch Party in Henderson, Nev., on Feb. 20, 2016. Secret Service guards the stage as presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters during the Bernie 2016 Nevada Caucus Watch Party in Henderson, Nev., on Feb. 20, 2016. Bill Clark—AP  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Jun 19, 2016 4:38 PM UTC [Bernie Sanders](http://time.com/4373431/bernie-sanders-senate-gun-vote/), who has not yet officially bowed out of the 2016 presidential race, is still being protected by [U.S. Secret Service agents](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/an-expensive-reminder-that-sanders-still-hasnt-dropped-out-his-secret-service-detail/2016/06/19/a3f717c6-3555-11e6-8ff7-7b6c1998b7a0%5Fstory.html) on the taxpayer’s dime. After Hillary Clinton clinched the Democratic party’s nomination, the Vermont senator [gave a concession speech](http://time.com/4372886/why-bernie-sanders-wont-quit-2/) on Thursday without formally declaring the end of his campaign. Many Sanders supporters have acknowledged that it’s all but impossible for him to be the Democratic nominee, but since he’s still in technically the running for president, he benefits from around-the-clock Secret Service protection, which can cost taxpayers more than $38,000 a day, the Washington _Post_ reports. Sanders is protected by a team of agents who guard his home from a small watch station on his property, according to the newspaper. The agents also travel with him on planes and use a motorcade when going through cities. The secretary of the Department of Homeland Security can grant protection to “major” presidential candidates who request it, usually until the candidate suspends his campaign, according to the _Post_. Sanders aides declined to comment on the Secret Service protection when asked by the _Post_. \[[_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/an-expensive-reminder-that-sanders-still-hasnt-dropped-out-his-secret-service-detail/2016/06/19/a3f717c6-3555-11e6-8ff7-7b6c1998b7a0%5Fstory.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4374236/bernie-sanders-secret-service/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4374236/bernie-sanders-secret-service/"},"headline":"Bernie Sanders Still Has Expensive Secret Service Protection","datePublished":"2016-06-19T16:38:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:44:51.140Z","description":"It can cost taxpayers more than $38,000 a day","url":"https://time.com/4374236/bernie-sanders-secret-service/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16605697044d0a7d/6988987ecd1bba2c7c701293/sanders-secret-service.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16605697044d0a7d/6988987ecd1bba2c7c701293/sanders-secret-service.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Nevada Democrats Caucus","caption":"Secret Service guards the stage as presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters during the Bernie 2016 Nevada Caucus Watch Party in Henderson, Nev., on Feb. 20, 2016.","creditText":"Bill Clark—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4374236/bernie-sanders-secret-service/","name":"Bernie Sanders Still Has Expensive Secret Service Protection"}}]}] ```