WASHINGTON — In seeking to rent space in the 58-floor skyscraper that is President Trump’s home in Manhattan, the Defense Department is continuing a long tradition of finding a place close to the commander in chief for his top military aides — including the ones who carry the “nuclear football” of launch codes that follows the president everywhere.
The Defense Department has regularly paid for space near temporary or part-time presidential residences, including near the Chicago home of President Barack Obama. Before that, the Pentagon placed a heavily secured trailer at the Crawford, Tex., ranch of President George W. Bush.
But it is hard to put a trailer with the nuclear football right outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, officials say. Even so, a move into the Manhattan high-rise raises questions of taxpayer money going directly to Mr. Trump.
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The football — essentially the briefcase of nuclear codes and communications systems — follows the president wherever he goes, held 24/7 by a military aide who must be able to get it to him in minutes if necessary.
Whoever is taking care of the nuclear football needs a place to sleep, close to the president. Thus, the need to rent space in Trump Tower, officials say.
“In order to meet official mission requirements, the Department of Defense is working through appropriate channels in accordance with all applicable legal requirements in order to acquire a limited amount of leased space in Trump Tower,” Lt. Col. J. B. Brindle, a Pentagon spokesman, said statement. “The space is necessary for the personnel and equipment who will support the POTUS at his residence in the building,” he said, using an acronym for president of the United States.
Since the military aide cannot move into the three-story apartment that Mr. Trump shares with his wife, Melania, and son Barron, that leaves looking to lease space elsewhere in the building.
The Defense Department did not say how much it would pay for the space. Leasing agents say a floor in Trump Tower can rent for $1.5 million a year, but it was unclear whether the Pentagon would rent that much space.
One possibility would be for the Pentagon to lease a condominium from a resident in the building who owns the space.
Renting space from a president is not without precedent. The Secret Service paid Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. $2,200 a month to rent a cottage adjacent to his home in a Wilmington, Del., suburb.
The Secret Service also has an arrangement in Trump Tower. Administration officials declined to comment on why the two agencies could not share the space.
