US taxpayers spent nearly $100,000 on luxury hotel rooms for Ivanka Trump’s security detail during her 45th-birthday trip to Morocco, Our News Outlet can reveal.
The president’s daughter, whose estimated wealth is between $50 million and $100 million, was seen by local media walking through Marrakech on October 29, just days before her father and the Republican Party suffered a heavy defeat in the midterms.
Federal procurement records obtained by Our News Outlet show that two contracts worth a combined $93,000 covered Secret Service agents who stayed at and assessed two five-star hotels before the visit.
On October 21, officials awarded a $59,543 contract for rooms at Marrakech’s five-star Sofitel. The booking was for a Secret Service advance team preparing for the arrival of a “VVIP,” according to the records.
A second contract, worth $33,457, was issued the following day to accommodate a Secret Service team at La Mamounia, the palatial hotel whose former guests include Winston Churchill and the Kardashians.
Neither contract identifies Ivanka by name, but she is the only known Secret Service protectee to have been in Morocco during that period. Trump family members are routinely classified as “VVIPs” in the same government contracting database.
The $93,000 combined hotel cost does not include agents’ pay, airfare, food or ground transportation. A spokesperson for Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, said they had no immediate comment.
Local media spotted Ivanka Trump walking through Marrakech’s souks on October 29, one day before her 45th birthday (source: X/@nidonado321)
Ivanka Trump in Venice, Italy, for Jeff Bezos’ wedding in June 2025 (source: Ivanka Trump/Instagram)
La Mamounia, a five-star hotel and casino, was one of two properties where Secret Service teams stayed before Ivanka’s visit, according to federal procurement records
A family source, however, defended Ivanka’s use of Secret Service protection, saying the detail is available to “every child and grandchild of the president.”
“The Iranians said they wanted to kill her—wouldn’t you want the best protection possible?” the source told Our News Outlet. The comment referred to a May report that an Iran-linked Iraqi militant had threatened to assassinate Ivanka in revenge for the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.
Ivanka previously served as a White House adviser to her father but no longer holds an official role in the US government. Her husband, meanwhile, remains involved in Trump’s Middle East peace initiatives, including plans to rebuild Gaza and create a post-war governing structure.
The source declined to explain why Ivanka traveled to Marrakech, a trip that coincided with her 45th birthday on October 30. They said she returned to the United States in time for election day.
Ivanka has traveled to Morocco twice before: first in 2019 on an official diplomatic mission focused on women’s rights, and again in 2022 for a family holiday.
A US Secret Service representative told Our News Outlet that “from a Secret Service standpoint, we’re always with our protectees,” but declined to provide further details about Ivanka’s latest trip.
Local outlets characterized the Morocco visit as a “private retreat.”
According to the local publication Le360, the former White House adviser was seen strolling through Marrakech in an ivory-colored outfit and wide-brimmed hat during her private Moroccan getaway.
The mother of three appeared relaxed as she walked with fellow travelers through Jemaa El-Fna square, the city’s famed public gathering place.
Ivanka previously visited Morocco in 2019 on an official mission promoting women’s rights, pictured, and returned in 2022 for a family vacation
The Kushners in India in March 2024 (source: Ivanka Trump/Instagram)
The Sofitel Marrakech, located only a few blocks from Jemaa El-Fna, the city’s UNESCO-listed main square, charges between $315 and $660 a night for standard rooms and junior suites. Rates for its top suites and penthouses can exceed $5,300.
The hotel advertises five swimming pools, a traditional Moroccan hammam and “true relaxation” for its guests.
La Mamounia, about a three-minute walk from the Sofitel, offers rooms starting at $440 per night. A private riad, or traditional villa, can cost more than $8,600.
The 18th-century palace was once owned by Morocco’s royal family. Its past guests have included Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and the Kardashians.
At L’Asiatique by Jean-Georges, one of La Mamounia’s four restaurants, a two-course Peking Duck meal costs 2,500 dirhams—approximately $680.
Ivanka’s trip came amid voter anger over the rising cost of living, government spending and the war in Iran. Those issues helped fuel a damaging verdict against her father and the Republican Party in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
The Sofitel offers five swimming pools, a traditional Moroccan hammam and “true relaxation”
La Mamounia, a three-minute walk from the Sofitel, charges from $440 a night for a standard room and more than $8,600 for a private riad, or traditional villa
Democrats removed the GOP from power in both chambers of Congress, taking Senate seats in traditionally Republican states including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.
By Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance had offered a stark explanation for the result. He acknowledged that voters who supported Trump in 2024 had changed course, citing frustration over the war, inflation and household costs.
Trump used his first public appearance after the sweeping defeat to showcase his unfinished $600 million White House ballroom. He highlighted its planned marble floors, Corinthian columns and bulletproof glass before signing a steel beam that workers then lifted into position.
Only after promoting the construction project did Trump address the Republicans’ historic losses. He told reporters the result would have been different if his name had appeared on the ballot.
“If I was on the ballot, we would have won,” Trump said Wednesday. “We weren’t able to transfer the love to candidates.”
Federal law authorizes Secret Service protection for the immediate family of a sitting president, including adult children, whether or not they hold government positions.
Government watchdogs, however, have urged the Trump family to repay taxpayers for Secret Service expenses. Scott Amey of the Project on Government Oversight said in 2020 that the wealthy family could readily cover the costs itself.
The Trump family has also reportedly charged the Secret Service rates as much as 300 percent above the authorized government per diem while agents stayed at one of the president’s own hotels.
Trump and Vance both acknowledged the Republican Party’s sweeping election losses on Wednesday
In 2025, the agency spent more than $40,000 on rental cars and hotel rooms as the president’s sons, including Eric Trump, pictured, pursued business deals in Qatar and Saudi Arabia
Last year, Trump extended his family’s Secret Service protection by six months after leaving the White House for Joe Biden in 2021. After returning to the presidency in 2025, he unilaterally ended the details assigned to Biden’s adult children, Hunter and Ashley.
Trump’s adult children and wife have repeatedly drawn attention to the substantial costs of providing security during vacations and private business travel.
In 2018, Ivanka and Jared Kushner vacationed in the Dominican Republic, generating nearly $60,000 in hotel expenses for their Secret Service escorts.
That long weekend followed a 2017 ski trip to Vancouver, Canada, with the couple’s children. The trip cost taxpayers $59,654 for hotel rooms for the security detail, along with $6,884 for “multi-day ski passes.”
In 2025, the agency spent more than $40,000 on rental vehicles and hotel rooms while Trump’s sons pursued business opportunities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia during a government shutdown that left thousands of federal workers without work for 43 days.
