Congress is prepared to provide more resources to the Secret Service if needed after a second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Monday.
“We all must do our part to ensure an incident like this does not happen again,” the New York Democrat said. “This means that Congress has a responsibility to ensure the Secret Service and all law enforcement have the resources they need to do their job.”
President Biden on Monday asked Congress to consider providing more resources for the Secret Service, a call that Mr. Schumer seems willing to heed.
“As we continue the appropriations process, if the Secret Service is in need of more resources, we are prepared to [provide] it for them, possibly in the upcoming funding agreement,” Mr. Schumer said.
Mr. Schumer, speaking in his week-opening floor remarks, was referring to a stopgap government funding bill lawmakers need to pass before the end of the month.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, addressed the second assassination attempt on Mr. Trump in his own floor remarks Monday but did not discuss a potential funding increase, instead focusing on the need for a swift investigation into the incident.
“The American people deserve answers,” he said. “They deserve assurance 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.”
Senate Appropriations Committee staff is consulting with the Secret Service on its budget needs and considering its options, including providing extra money in the stopgap funding bill and proposing an increase in agency funding in the full fiscal 2025 funding measure that would follow the stopgap, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Congress appropriated $3.1 billion for the Secret Service’s fiscal 2024 budget, which was a $265 million increase over the previous year. That fiscal 2024 funding, which included $244 million for presidential candidate and convention protection and other national special security events, will run out at the end of September. A stopgap measure would continue funding at that level unless lawmakers decided to add more money.
A man was charged with two firearm offenses for perching outside of the Trump International Golf Club on Sunday with a rifle aimed toward the course where the Republican presidential nominee was playing. Secret Service agents noticed the rifle through bushes and fired at the man, who fled in a vehicle but was quickly stopped and arrested.
Mr. Trump was not harmed, and the Secret Service quickly removed him from the course. But local law enforcement said the protection around his golf club was not as large as it would have been if Mr. Trump were still president.
Mr. Schumer’s suggestion that Congress is prepared to provide more funding for the Secret Service if needed runs somewhat in contrast to comments House Speaker Mike Johnson made earlier Monday on Fox News.
“President Trump needs the most coverage of anyone. He’s the most attacked, he’s the most threatened — even probably more than when he was in the Oval Office,” the Louisiana Republican said.
“So, we are demanding in the House that he have every asset available. And we will make more available if necessary,” Mr. Johnson said. “I don’t think it’s a funding issue. I think it’s a manpower allocation.”
A House GOP aide also declined to commit to more funding as the solution, noting that Congress provided all the funding the Secret Service requested for the current fiscal year, which included $117.3 million specifically for the 2024 presidential campaign and $18.7 million to increase hiring across the Service.
“Although acting Director Rowe noted that the security failure on July 13th was not caused by a lack of resources, Congress will continue to collaborate with the Service to address long-term staffing, equipment, and training needs,” the GOP aide said, referring to the first assassination attempt against Mr. Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
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