Change.org’s April petition calling for First Lady Melania Trump to move to the White House or personally pay for her New York City security expenses has become the site’s most signed campaign this week.
The petition was launched in April and continues to explode in popularity, attracting over 230,000 signatures and becoming the site’s most signed campaign as of Monday, according to CBS News.
“The U.S. taxpayer is paying an exorbitant amount of money to protect the first lady in Trump Tower, located in New York City,” the petition reads. “As to help relieve the national debt, this expense yields no positive results for the nation and should be cut from being funded.”
Thousands of commenters allege on the page that the first lady’s situation is an egregious misuse of taxpayer dollars.
One person wrote on the site, “Why should the U.S. taxpayer carry the burden for her security away from the [White House]?” while another wrote, “This is money that could be going towards a better healthcare and education system … this is money that should be invested in ALL of the American people.”
Last month, the Secret Service requested $60 million in additional funding to protect the president and his family, according to a Washington Post report.
The petition seeks to reach 300,000 signatures total and will be delivered as a letter to Democratic Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Despite the size of online attention the petition has received, it will likely cause no changes because Secret Service budget allocations are not subject to popular vote.
The Independent reports that it costs $127 to $146 thousand dollars per day for Melania and Barron to live in Trump Tower instead of the White House.
“He is also hell bent on introducing policy that will hurt the most vulnerable members of society” wrote Liberal America on the petition site.
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