Lawmakers are pushing to ensure the U.S. Secret Service has enough money and resources to keep the country’s presidential candidates safe amid repeated threats of violence. But it’s unclear how much they can do just weeks before the election, or whether the extra dollars will make an immediate difference.
Days after a gunman was arrested at former President Trump’s golf course, the House of Representatives on Friday passed bipartisan legislation by a vote of 405-0 to require the agency to use the same standards for assigning agents to major presidential candidates as it does for presidents — and used by vice presidents. The agency has told Congress that it has already increased security for Trump, but House lawmakers want the stricter standard enshrined in law.
The effort comes after an attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in July and after Secret Service agents arrested a man with a gun hidden on the golf course at Trump’s Florida club. The suspect in Florida also reportedly wanted to kill the Republican presidential candidate.
“In America, elections are decided at the ballot box, not by an assassin’s bullet,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), the bill’s sponsor, during debate before the vote. “These incidents are a stain on our country.”
With elections fast approaching and Congress leaving town before October, lawmakers are scrambling to figure out exactly what they can do to help, hoping to assess the agency’s pressing needs and make sure they’re doing all they can in an era when political violence is more common and every politician is a potential target.
“We have a responsibility here in Congress to understand why these things happen and what we can do about it,” Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday. “This is not a partisan issue. We’re both working on it.”
House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Thursday that “we need to put the Secret Service in a place where their agents are as protected as possible.”
Democrats and Republicans held talks with the agency this week to determine whether additional resources are needed. Senator Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut, the Democratic chairman of the spending subcommittee that oversees the Secret Service, said Congress wants to ensure that if it spends new dollars, “it will help the situation between now and the inauguration.”
Murphy said the new money could be spent on technology like drones, partnerships with other agencies that can provide immediate assistance and additional pay for agents. It is likely to be added to an austerity spending bill Congress will consider next week to keep the government afloat, either by allowing the Secret Service to spend money more quickly or by providing the agency with emergency dollars.
“I’m sure we’ll get it taken care of one way or another,” Murphy said.
After the July shooting, House Republicans created a bipartisan task force focused on investigating the security failures that day, and the panel will hold its first hearing next week. The House voted Friday to expand the committee’s mandate to include what happened in Florida, even though the Secret Service caught the suspect before anyone was hurt.
In a letter this month, the Secret Service told lawmakers that a lack of funding was not the cause of Trump’s security breach when a gunman climbed onto an unsecured roof and opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. But acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said this week that the agency has an “urgent need.”
Secret Service officials also told lawmakers behind closed doors that they have already increased security for Trump to the same level as Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden.
Spencer Love, a Democratic spokesman for the House task force, told members after the agency briefed members Wednesday that “only the commander in chief gets a few specialized assets, but the rest of his protection is at the same level.”
In the Senate, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has also introduced a bill that would provide similar protections to presidential candidates. Both bills require regular reports to Congress on the status of candidate protections. Senate leaders have not said whether they will consider the bill.
In a joint statement after the bill passed, Lawler and his co-sponsor, New York Democratic Rep. Richie Torres, called on the Senate to pass the bill and for Biden to sign it. They thanked the president for expanding Trump’s security, but said that “without the passage and implementation of this legislation, these enhanced protections will not become law and will change over time.”
Republicans argue that restructuring the agency and possibly reassigning officers should be a higher priority than funding.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican who was shot at baseball practice in 2017, noted this week that the Secret Service has received consistent budget increases in recent years.
“It’s not about the money,” Scalise said, “it’s about what they do with the money.”
Rep. Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican who sits on the task force, said he asked Secret Service officials on Wednesday what new resources would be needed and was told they were still evaluating.
“I think it’s irresponsible to throw money away when they don’t even know what they need and how much they can afford,” the Florida lawmaker said, adding that she hopes the agency is taking a more focused approach to protecting officials and candidates.
But it is unclear whether Republicans will oppose the funding increase.
“It’s clear they’re stretched too thin,” said task force Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.). “I know there are some people who look at the $3 billion budget and think that should be enough. But when you look at where all the bodies are supposed to go, it’s a problem.”
Jalonik and Amiri write for The Associated Press.
