WASHINGTON — Five days after the second alleged assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the House of Representatives unanimously passed bipartisan legislation on Friday that would increase Secret Service protection for the two parties’ presidential candidates, Trump and Kamala Harris, and their vice presidential running mates.
The vote was 405-0. It needed two-thirds House support to pass because it was being taken up on an expedited process. In separate action, lawmakers also passed a resolution expanding the scope of the bipartisan House task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump to include the second incident.
The bill’s passage comes as lawmakers grapple with how to address the growing threat of violence against top U.S. political figures ahead of the November elections. Some lawmakers have called for more funding for the Secret Service, while others have said the Secret Service could be more effective by shifting resources.
More specifically, the Enhanced Presidential Security Act — introduced by Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y. — would require the Secret Service to “apply the same standards for determining the number of agents needed to protect presidents, vice presidents, and major presidential and vice presidential candidates.”
The bill is just three pages long and gives the Secret Service broad discretion over staffing levels. But if it becomes law, it would give Trump and Harris the same standard of Secret Security protection as President Joe Biden.
“We as a federal government have a responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of these candidates. One of them is going to be president and the election should be decided by voters at the ballot box — not by an assassin’s bullet,” Lawler told reporters.
“And if the Secret Service’s argument is that they don’t have enough resources or manpower,” he said, “then that needs to be addressed immediately.”
Despite the House’s broad bipartisan vote, it’s unclear how the Senate will handle the security issue. Appropriations committees in both chambers are debating whether to include additional funding for the Secret Service in the emergency funding bill that Congress must pass by Sept. 30 to avert a government shutdown.
Biden said this week that the Secret Service “needs more help” and called on Congress to take action. And both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have pledged to give the Secret Service what it needs.
This week, Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott, a Trump ally who represents the state where the FBI says a second attempt on Trump’s life took place, introduced a bill that would go along with the one that passed the House of Representatives on Friday. All 12 co-sponsors of Scott’s Protect Our Presidents Act are Republicans.
“In the span of just 65 days, two deranged individuals attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, and one of them succeeded in shooting him in the head,” Scott said in a statement. “It is unthinkable that this could happen in America today, and it demands immediate action from Congress.”
However, some senators suggested the bill may not be necessary, arguing that Trump already has the same level of security as Biden.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he wants the Secret Service to “clarify what its current practices are” to confirm that. “I don’t understand why there would ever be a difference between the protections that President Biden, Vice President Harris and President Trump get,” Cornyn said. “I think it should all be the same, and we don’t have to pass a law to do that.”
Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) added, “No, there is no” need to pass the House bill, noting that Trump “already has protections.”
Torres, the bill’s lead Democratic co-sponsor, pushed back against Durbin: “He’s wrong. Two assassination attempts prove the need for the legislation.”
“We’re confident it’s going to happen” in the Senate, Torres added. “The vote was unanimous. I mean, rarely does bipartisan legislation get unanimous approval across the ideological spectrum.”
Secret Service officials have briefed congressional leaders and key committees on the second attempted murder of Trump in less than 10 weeks. On Sunday, a Secret Service agent opened fire on the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, after spotting a rifle sticking out of bushes outside the course where Trump was golfing near his Mar-a-Lago club.
After the incident, Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe said the service needed to completely overhaul the way it protects presidents.
After the first assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, Rowe wrote to top lawmakers on Sept. 5 that the security failures there were not the result of inadequate resources. But Rowe argued that his agency needs more and better resources to respond to threats against his protégés.
“The threat environment and increasing protection requirements require a paradigm shift in the level of protection, readiness, and sustainability of the Secret Service,” Rowe wrote.
“We have taken the necessary steps to keep up with the operational tempo of today’s protection mission,” he continued, “but the Secret Service’s increased mission requirements require additional resources to ensure we have the tools, resources and personnel necessary to meet these new requirements and execute our mission into the future.”
The Secret Service’s budget has grown steadily in recent years. Congress has appropriated $3.1 billion for the Secret Service for the current fiscal year 2024, which is $265.6 million above the funding for fiscal year 2023 and significantly more than the $1.8 billion appropriated a decade ago.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
