Introduced by New York Congressmen Lawler (R-17) and Torres (D-15), the bill would require a uniform standard for assigning Secret Service agents to the Prez, the VP and candidates for those offices.
By Mychael Schnell | THE HILL
The House unanimously passed a bill Friday that seeks to bolster former President Trump’s security, the first legislative move the chamber has made in response to the second apparent assassination attempt against the Republican presidential nominee.
The House cleared the legislation — titled the Enhanced Presidential Security Act — in a bipartisan 405-0 vote, sending it to the Senate for consideration. It’s unclear if the upper chamber plans to consider the measure, though similar legislation has been proposed by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
House Republican leadership staged a vote on the legislation less than a week after Secret Service spotted a gunman — later identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58 — hiding among trees and sticking a rifle through the fence at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida, where the former president was playing.
A security team conducting a screening of the holes Trump was approaching spotted the gunman and fired shots at Routh, who fled the scene but was later arrested by local authorities.
It was the second attempt on Trump’s life since July 13, when a gunman opened fire at the former president’s rally in Butler, Pa., piercing Trump’s ear and leaving him bloodied on stage. That shooting also killed one attendee and wounded others.
The bill — introduced by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) after the first assassination attempt — requires the Secret Service to “apply the same standards” for determining how many agents should be used to protect the president, vice president, and those running for those offices.
NY GOP Rep. Michael Lawler (left), and NY Democrat Rep. Richie Torres (right).
The Secret Service has not commented on the pending legislation, but the purpose of the bill seems to clash with its contention that Trump and Harris now have the highest levels of security.
“President Biden made it clear that he wanted the highest levels of protection for former President Trump and for Vice President Harris. Secret Service moved to sustain increases in assets and the level of protection … and those things were in place yesterday,” acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told reporters Monday.
“The president is aware that he has the highest levels of protection that Secret Service is providing him. …There’s a lot of tactical assets in place, things that have been put in place as a result of what happened 60 days ago. Those elements are working,” he added.
The sitting president has the support of a vast infrastructure that includes the military to support the Secret Service posture. Candidates, meanwhile, have their Secret Service protection supplemented by local law enforcement.
Trump has the same counter-surveillance and counter-sniper teams afforded to sitting presidents, along with protective intelligence and drone teams. Still, the president travels with other non-Secret Service assets, including those related to the Department of Defense and the National Security Council.
The House voted on the legislation Friday as Congress continues to debate to provide the Secret Service with additional funding following the pair of assassination attempts.
While some leaders have floated a funding increase, other lawmakers — including Johnson — have suggested the issue is one of workforce and resource allocation, not funding levels. The Speaker did, however, say he would be prepared to provide the agency with more money if deemed necessary.
“We have got to get down to the bottom of this. We’ve got to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” Johnson said this week. “If they need additional funding, Congress will supply that. But we’re told it’s a manpower problem.” ##