US House passes bill mandating Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates to receive same Secret Service protection as sitting President

Sunday, September 22, 2024 - Five days after the second apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, the US House of Representatives on Friday, September 20, unanimously passed bipartisan legislation that would boost Secret Service protection for the two parties’ presidential nominees, Trump and Kamala Harris, as well as their vice presidential running mates.

The vote was 405-0. It required two-thirds support of the House to pass because it came to the floor under an expedited process. In a separate action, lawmakers also passed a resolution expanding the scope of the bipartisan House task force investigating the July 13, Trump assassination attempt to include the second incident.

The bill’s passage comes as lawmakers grapple over how to address the growing threats of violence against major political figures in the U.S. ahead of the November election. Some lawmakers have called for more Secret Service funding, while others said the Secret Service could be more effective by shifting resources.

Specifically, the Enhanced Presidential Security Act introduced by Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y. would require the Secret Service to “apply the same standards for determining the number of agents required to protect Presidents, Vice Presidents, and major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates.”

The bill is just three pages long and gives the Secret Service broad discretion on how to figure out staffing levels. But if it's signed into law, Trump and Harris would be granted the same standard of Secret Security protection as President Joe Biden.

“We as a federal government have a responsibility to ensure the safety and the well-being of these candidates. One of them is going to be president, and the election should be decided by voters at the ballot box — not by an assassin’s bullet,” Lawler told reporters.

“And if the argument by the Secret Service is that they don’t have enough resources or they don’t have enough manpower,” he said, “then that needs to be addressed immediately.”

Despite the big bipartisan House vote, it’s unclear how the Senate will handle the issue of security. Appropriators from both chambers are discussing whether to include additional funding for the Secret Service in the stopgap funding bill Congress must pass by September 30 to avert a government shutdown.

Biden said this week that the Secret Service "needs more help" and called on Congress to act, with both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have committed to getting the Secret Service what they need.