The California Highway Patrol will provide security protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris after her Secret Service coverage ended on Thursday, according to a report from The Los Angeles Times.
On Friday, California officials granted Harris dignitary status. She has been a private citizen since leaving office on January 19. With this new status, the state will now take over responsibility for her security. Governor Gavin Newsom must approve the CHP-provided protection for Harris, but his office did not comment on the decision.
“Our office does not comment on security arrangements,” said Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gordon to The Los Angeles Times.
Harris resides in Los Angeles and is scheduled to begin a 15-city book tour starting September 24 in New York City, as reported by USA Today. The tour is expected to last 107 days and would have required advance work by the Secret Service if her federal protection had continued.
Outgoing vice presidents typically receive Secret Service protection for six months after leaving office. However, President Joe Biden extended Harris’ coverage beyond that period at the request of her aides. That arrangement ended when President Donald Trump signed a memorandum ending her protection as of Monday.
Trump also ended Secret Service coverage for his adult children, Hunter and Ashley Biden, which had been extended by their father through July. According to The Washington Post, Hunter Biden recently traveled with his Secret Service team to South Africa.
Federal law provides lifetime Secret Service protection only for former presidents and first ladies. With the end of Harris’ extended coverage, all similar protections granted before Biden left office in January have also concluded.
