LOS ANGELES, CA — Former Vice President Kamala Harris is now under the protection of Los Angeles police officers after President Donald Trump formally ended her Secret Service detail earlier this month, sparking a firestorm of debate over security, politics, and precedent.
According to a report from FOX 11 Los Angeles, at least 14 officers from LAPD’s elite Metro Division have been temporarily reassigned away from active investigations and crime suppression duties to provide protective security for Harris at her Brentwood residence. Cameras captured an unmarked LAPD SUV parked outside the property, with at least two plainclothes officers stationed nearby.
The End of Secret Service Protection
By law, former vice presidents are entitled to six months of Secret Service protection after leaving office. Harris’s official coverage expired on July 21, 2025. However, before leaving office in January, then-President Joe Biden had signed an extension granting her a full year of coverage, citing concerns over political violence and the elevated risks facing women in high-profile leadership roles.
That extension was revoked on September 1, 2025, when President Trump issued an executive order rescinding her additional protection. The order not only applied to Harris but also ended taxpayer-funded security for several other figures, including Hunter and Ashley Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Trump justified the move as a matter of fiscal discipline and fairness, arguing that taxpayer-funded security should not be indefinite. “The American people should not have to pay for life-long protection for political elites,” he said in remarks at the White House. “These individuals have the means to provide for their own security, and local law enforcement is capable of stepping in when necessary.”
Local Backlash in Los Angeles
The withdrawal of Harris’s Secret Service protection drew swift condemnation from Democratic leaders in California, who accused Trump of political retaliation.
“This is another act of revenge following a long list of political retaliation in the form of firings, the revoking of security clearances, and more,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement to FOX 11. “This puts the former vice president in danger, and I look forward to working with the governor to make sure Vice President Harris is safe in Los Angeles.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom has reportedly considered deploying the California Highway Patrol to supplement Harris’s security. While his office declined to confirm the exact details, a spokesperson said: “The safety of our public officials should never be subject to erratic, vindictive political impulses.”
LAPD’s Role and Strain on Resources
The LAPD reassignment has raised practical concerns within the department. Metro Division officers typically handle high-risk operations, violent crime suppression, and major case investigations. By redirecting 14 officers to Harris’s personal security, critics argue that resources are being diverted away from public safety priorities at a time when Los Angeles continues to battle spikes in organized retail theft, carjackings, and violent assaults.
“We’re already stretched thin,” said one LAPD officer who spoke anonymously. “Pulling investigators and Metro personnel off of active cases so they can guard a politician feels like a misuse of resources. But when it comes from the top, we don’t have much choice.”
LAPD officials have not publicly commented on how long officers will remain assigned to Harris’s security detail.
Harris’s Post-Vice Presidency Life
Since leaving Washington, Harris has lived in Los Angeles with her husband, Doug Emhoff. While she has kept a relatively low public profile compared to her years in office, she remains an active figure in Democratic politics, particularly in California.
Her residence in the affluent Brentwood neighborhood makes her both visible and vulnerable, according to security experts. “Any former vice president, regardless of party, is a high-value target,” said Robert Caltrow, a former Secret Service agent now working in private security. “Removing federal protection increases risks dramatically, especially given today’s climate of political violence.”
The Political Dimension
The dispute over Harris’s security has quickly become another partisan flashpoint. Democrats frame the decision as an abuse of power, while Republicans argue Harris should not receive special treatment beyond the law’s six-month provision.
Some GOP lawmakers praised Trump’s move as a necessary correction. “It’s time for Democrats to live by the same rules as everyone else,” said Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.). “You don’t get taxpayer-funded security forever just because you lost an election.”
Others worry the optics may backfire. “Like her or not, Kamala Harris was a vice president of the United States,” one Republican strategist told Politico. “If something happens to her while under reduced protection, that will be a political disaster — and the blame will land squarely on Trump.”
Broader Security Precedents
Traditionally, security arrangements for former officials vary. Former presidents receive lifelong Secret Service protection, but vice presidents receive just six months unless otherwise authorized. Congress has occasionally passed special legislation to extend protection for specific individuals facing unusual threats, though such measures are rare.
Biden’s decision to extend Harris’s detail for one year was unusual but not unprecedented. Trump’s reversal of that extension, however, has set off debate over whether security decisions should be insulated from political influence.
“Protection decisions should be based on threat assessments, not politics,” said Mary Beth Long, a former Pentagon official. “Pulling protection early — especially in today’s environment — risks making a political figure more vulnerable to attack.”
A Pattern of Retrenchment
Trump’s move fits into a broader trend of cutting back federal benefits and protections for former officials. Earlier this year, he ended taxpayer-funded travel allowances for several ex-officials and rescinded security clearances for multiple former intelligence leaders.
To his supporters, these actions represent a long-overdue rollback of what they see as perks of the “deep state.” To critics, they look like targeted acts of revenge against political adversaries.
What Happens Next?
For now, Harris’s day-to-day security falls on the shoulders of LAPD and potentially the California Highway Patrol. The Department of Justice has not weighed in on whether Trump’s revocation could be challenged in court, though legal experts suggest Harris might argue that Biden’s extension created an enforceable expectation of protection.
Meanwhile, LAPD continues to juggle its new assignment alongside ongoing public safety challenges in the nation’s second-largest city. And Harris, once protected by one of the most sophisticated federal security details in the world, now relies on a patchwork of local officers reassigned from other duties.
Conclusion
The reassignment of LAPD officers to guard Kamala Harris highlights the intersection of politics, law enforcement, and security in a deeply polarized America. What might once have been a routine transition of protective coverage has become a partisan flashpoint — one that raises questions not just about Harris’s safety, but about how far politics should go in shaping who gets protection and who does not.
As Los Angeles adjusts to its new role in safeguarding the former vice president, the debate is likely to grow louder: was Trump’s move a justified rollback of taxpayer spending, or an act of political vengeance that left one of the nation’s highest-profile women more vulnerable than ever?