Betsy DeVos' security detail could cost $26 million over four years

Her security cost $6.2 million over the past year -- which was less than expected -- and is projected to cost $7.9 million between now and the end of September 2020, the US Marshals Service said Wednesday.

Politico first reported the cost.

It's uncommon for the Marshals Service to protect Cabinet members, who usually receive security protection through their individual agencies.

The Marshals Service started providing protective detail for DeVos in February 2017 at the request of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He requested security for DeVos after her contentious confirmation battle and an encounter with protesters at a middle school in Washington in 2017.

The security detail cost about $12 million for the first two years.

"Year after year, the press reports on the cost of the Secretary's security detail. What goes unreported are the threats to the Secretary's safety, which necessitate the security detail in the first place," said Department of Education spokeswoman Angela Morabito in an emailed statement.

"The people who make the threats are at fault here, not the person receiving them," she added.

In a statement, the Marshals Service said it would not disclose the number of personnel assigned to DeVos' detail or the nature of threats against her. The number of people providing protection "is commensurate with the existing threat and based on USMS protective service requirements, experience and methodology," it said.