Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Elizabeth (Betsy) Dee DeVosSpecial counsel investigating DeVos for potential Hatch Act violation: report NEA president says Azar and DeVos should resign over school reopening guidance The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - You might want to download TikTok now MORE is being protected by an around-the-clock security detail from the U.S. Marshals Service at a cost of millions each year, according to a new report from NBC News.

Devos is the only member of the Cabinet getting the protection, the report states.

Although it is unclear who made the request, which could potentially cost taxpayers roughly $19.8 million through next September, NBC News reported on Friday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsGOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status MORE granted the protection to DeVos on Feb. 13, 2017 — just days before the education secretary was heckled by a group of protesters outside a public middle school in Washington.

"The order was issued after the Department of Education contacted administration officials regarding threats received by the Secretary of Education," the Justice Department told the news agency in a statement. "The U.S.M.S. was identified to assist in this area based on its expertise and long experience providing executive protection."

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According to the report’s findings, the estimated cost to cover the security detail provided to DeVos was $5.3 million in fiscal year 2017 and $6.8 million in fiscal year 2018. The estimated cost of security for the secretary in 2019 is $7.74 million.

Liz Hill, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, told NBC News that DeVos did not personally request the security detail.

"We’re obviously not at liberty to discuss the nature of the threats," Hill told the publication. "But it should be obvious that they are significant. Otherwise, the trained professionals who made the call to escalate her detail wouldn’t have done so."

The total costs for the security detail are also reportedly reimbursed by the Education Department.

Anthony Chapa, a former assistant director of the Secret Service, told the publication that government officials can be provided with enhanced security protection if they face a specific threat or for a particular trip.

"I personally don’t know what the threats (against DeVos) may be," Chapa said, "but somebody probably made that determination and felt, because of that particular level of threat, she has increased vulnerability."

But "if someone made a decision outside of that scope, then that evaluation is worthy of review,” he added.