In an impressive bipartisan move, the House of Representatives voted 450-0 to pass the Enhanced Presidential Security Act, which would better protect presidential candidate Donald Trump. The bill now heads to the Senate for approval.
In July, an assassination attempt on Trump left former fire chief Corey Comperatore dead and two others injured. The investigation into how the perpetrator was able to get so close to President Trump is ongoing. Given the shock and reaction to that event, it’s difficult to comprehend that it was a close call a second time, when a man was caught with a gun waiting for Trump on a golf course. After exchanging gunfire with the Secret Service and attempting to flee, the man was captured.
The Republicans are not willing to take any further risks with the Security of your candidate.
The bill – introduced by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Ritchie Torres (R-N.Y.) after the first assassination attempt – requires the Secret Service to “apply the same standards” in deciding how many agents to deploy to protect the president, vice president and those running for those offices.
The two recent attempts on former President Trump’s life have shown the world that there are sedate gaps in the Secret Service’s protections. @RepRitchie and I introduced the Enhanced Presidential Security Act to address this problem and protect presidential candidates. pic.twitter.com/Wj4O6a24qk
— Congressman Mike Lawler (@RepMikeLawler) 19 September 2024
However, the Secret Service claims that both Trump and Harris are already under the highest security level.
“President Biden “made it clear that he wanted the highest level of protection for former President Trump and for Vice President Harris. The Secret Service has taken steps to maintain the increased resources and levels of protection … and those things were implemented yesterday,” acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told reporters on Monday.
The presidential candidates’ Secret Service team is supplemented by local police forces, while the military supports the incumbent president’s security service.
Trump has the same counter-surveillance and sniper teams as sitting presidents, as well as intelligence and drone teams. Yet the president travels with other non-Secret Service personnel, including those from the Department of Defense and the National Security Council.
However, there is debate as to whether the problem is financing or workforce.
“We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Johnson said this week. “If they need additional funding, Congress will provide it. But we’re being told it’s a personnel issue.”
If this is the highest level of security, Americans have reason to be concerned. The blame and excuses only make us look stupid and delicate. The lives of presidential candidates are not usually threatened in this way (except, of course, in the tragedy of then-Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy, who was gunned down in 1968). This should be an easily solved problem, and it must be solved now.
See also:
DeSantis: We will conduct our OWN investigation into the second Trump assassination attempt, thank you very much
NEW: Shocking poll shows 28 percent of Democrats wish Trump had been assassinated
Hawley releases ‘extremely damaging’ whistleblower report on shocking Secret Service and DHS failures
