Can the POTUS forbid the VP from entering the West Wing or the main building of the White House?

Question

After Pence rejected in writing the idea that he not open some electoral certificates, CNN reported on their live feed that

President Trump told people he banned Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short from the West Wing today, according to multiple people.

Short was seen going into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Wednesday, which is on the White House campus but is a separate building from the White House and where Pence has his Vice Presidential Office, but Short has otherwise spent the day on the Hill.

So, I'm curious if in a hypothetical situation in which the POTUS decides to "break off" with the VP as much as possible, can the POTUS effectively ban the VP from entering anything on the White House campus but the VP's own office (which is in separate building on White House campus)?

Answer 1

Hard to be certain but theoretically, yes

The Secret Service Uniformed Division is primarily responsible for the protection of the White House Complex. The statutory authority of the Uniformed Division is set out in Title 18, §3056A of the US Code (direct link), where it is mentioned that the Director of the Secret Service may prescribe duties for the protection of the White House and that the Secret Service have the same powers as the DC Metropolitan Police. The authority of the Director is further reinforced by Title 18, §3056 of the US Code, which states in pertinent part: “No personnel and operational elements of the United States Secret Service shall report to an individual other than the Director of the United States Secret Service, who shall report directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security”.

Both the Secretary of Homeland Security and Director of the Secret Service serve at the pleasure of the President and (for the Secretary at least) are subject to the direction of the President.

It is thus possible that a President may indirectly or directly cause the Director of the Secret Service to bar entrance into the White House for a specific individual (such as the Vice President) and that absent a law, regulatory decision or judicial ruling to the contrary, that direction would be complied with for the implied reason outlined above (relating to the President’s authority to determine their term of office).