The House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill on Friday that aims to enhance Secret Service protection for major presidential and vice presidential candidates. This move comes in response to two apparent assassination attempts targeting Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The vote resulted in a 405-0 majority in favor of the bill.
The legislation directs the Secret Service director to establish uniform standards for protecting presidents, vice presidents, and major candidates for these positions. The Secret Service has faced scrutiny from Congress following the two assassination attempts on Trump, one at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 and another at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida on September 15.
Now that the bill has been passed by the House, it must be approved by the Senate before it can become law. However, its fate is uncertain as many Democrats have pointed out that enhanced security measures are already in place for Trump.
The bill, known as HR 9106, was introduced by Republican Representative Mike Lawler of New York and Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres also of New York. Torres expressed cautious optimism that this legislation will pass the Senate and become law.
A source with direct knowledge of the legislation revealed that it will codify President Joe Biden’s actions regarding Secret Service protection and authorize him to extend this protection to any other authorized presidential or vice presidential candidate.
President Biden has called for more resources to be provided to the Secret Service following these recent incidents. Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. has also been advocating for increased resources for his agency.
Lawmakers are currently debating whether additional funding or better management is needed within the Secret Service. Discussions are underway about including additional funding in a government funding extension set to pass by September 30.
A House task force investigating these assassination attempts is working towards expanding its probe to include both incidents. GOP Representative Mike Kelly emphasized that it is important for the Secret Service to justify their requests for additional resources.
This story will continue developing as more information becomes available.
