Senate eyes more Secret Service funding after assassination attempt – Washington Examiner
The Senate is considering increasing funding for the Secret Service following a second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed support for providing more resources, emphasizing that they are prepared to include this in upcoming funding agreements. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called for an assurance that Trump will receive adequate protection, reflecting concerns over the violent threats faced by political figures. This recent attempt, which occurred on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf course in Florida, has drawn further scrutiny of the Secret Service, especially in light of a prior incident at a campaign rally. Both President Joe Biden and House Speaker Mike Johnson emphasized the need for enhanced security for Trump, who they noted is particularly targeted.
Senate eyes more Secret Service funding after second Trump assassination attempt
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Monday offered support for beefing up the Secret Service’s annual funding following another assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“If the Secret Service is in need of more resources, we are prepared in providing it for them, possibly in the upcoming funding agreement,” Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the response to the would-be shooter should include “the ways that our political process has been injected by reprehensible violence” and assurances from the Secret Service.
“The American people deserve answers,” McConnell said. “They deserve assurances that a former president, who tens of millions of Americans have nominated once again, will receive every appropriate measure of security, and they ought to receive them without delay.”
The second attempt on Trump’s life, made Sunday while on his southern Florida Mar-a-Lago golf course, has placed the Secret Service under even further scrutiny following the shooting in July at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
If there’s one thing congressional leaders can now agree on, it appears to be bolstering the Secret Service or the Trump campaign with additional resources.
President Joe Biden told reporters the agency “needs more help” and that Congress “should respond to their needs.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on Fox News that Trump “needs the most coverage of anyone.”
“He’s the most attacked. He’s the most threatened,” Johnson said. “We are demanding, in the House, that he have every asset available. And we will make more available if necessary.”
The Secret Service’s current annual budget tops $3 billion, a number that could swell in the coming months as lawmakers negotiate fiscal 2025 spending. Congress must approve a stopgap funding bill by Oct. 1 to avoid a shutdown, which would allow them to work on the full-year budget after the November elections.
But the Secret Service has previously pushed back on the notion that a lack of funding was to blame for security failures protecting Trump at this summer’s rally.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told Senate appropriators earlier this month that the July 13 attempt on the GOP presidential nominee’s life was not due to insufficient funding. Still, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) told reporters on Monday that Rowe expressed an interest when the topic came up at a closed-door briefing with senators last week.
“I got the impression he was open to that ideal,” Durbin said.
David Sivak contributed to this report.
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