House Advances Bill To Increase Secret Service Protection After Trump’s Second Assassination Attempt

The House has approved a bill to increase Secret Service protection for major presidential and vice presidential nominees after a second assassination attempt on President Trump.In a 405-0 vote on Friday, the House advanced the legislation, which required a two-thirds vote as it was brought to the floor through an expedited process. The bill, the Enhanced Presidential Security Act, requires 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.”Congressman Mike Lawler of New York, who co-sponsored the legislation, told reporters on Friday, “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.”“And if the argument by the Secret Service is that they don’t have enough resources or they don’t have enough manpower, then that needs to be addressed immediately,” he added.President Biden said earlier this week that he believed the Secret Service “needs more help.”On Sunday, Trump was at his golf club at West Palm Beach, Florida, when Secret Service agents a few holes ahead of the former president on the course saw a rifle sticking through the bushes and opened fire.Law enforcement officials said they found two backpacks, a scope, and a GoPro camera in the spot where the suspect was allegedly hiding.Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt was the second attempt on Trump’s life in nine weeks.Amid questions about the apparent security lapses that transpired before the first assassination attempt, Sunday’s incident has led to questions about how a would-be assassin was able to get so close to the former president. The Palm Beach county sheriff, Ric Bradshaw, pointed out that despite the first attempt on the former president’s life, the security protocols were not the same as they would be if he was the president. “He’s not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he’s not, his security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible,” Mr. Bradshaw told reporters.The FBI disclosed the suspect’s cell phone data which showed he was near the golf course for nearly 12 hours before the incident. Additionally, the Secret Service said they did not search the perimeter before Trump began golfing. Yet, amid concerns about security protocols for presidential candidates, it appears there is some disagreement on the question of whether more security is needed. Senator Durbin of Illinois told reporters additional security is not needed as Trump “already has protection.”

House Advances Bill To Increase Secret Service Protection After Trump’s Second Assassination Attempt

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