(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
A bipartisan pair of lawmakers in Congress are putting together legislation that would beef up Secret Service protection for presidential candidates after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) are planning to introduce a bill that would enhance the security received by Trump, President Joe Biden, and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Jake Sherman, co-founder of Punchbowl News, shared a statement from the duo in a post to X on Sunday.
“Last night’s attempted assassination of former President Trump was a dark moment in our nation’s history. As reports continue to emerge, it’s clear that more protection is needed for all major candidates for president,” the two lawmakers said. “That’s why we’re planning on introducing bipartisan legislation providing President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. with enhanced Secret Service protection. Anything less would be a disservice to our democracy.”
The Secret Service is facing intense scrutiny after the shooting at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday in which at least one bullet ripped through the former president’s right ear, one spectator was killed, and two others were grievously injured. After the shooting began, Secret Service personnel could be seen rushing to Trump to offer him protection. But questions are being raised about how the gunman, whom Secret Service personnel killed, managed to get onto a nearby rooftop and start shooting from roughly 150 yards away.
Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding information. He noted that there was “some reporting” that suggested the Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Secret Service, “rebuffed” multiple requests from Trump’s security detail to increase protective resources in the preceding weeks.
In a post to X on Sunday, seemingly in response to the reports Green mentioned, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that there was “an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo.”
RFK Jr., whose father U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and uncle President John F. Kennedy were both assassinated, has pushed for Secret Service protection while on the campaign trail — only to be denied.
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