House Republicans proposed a boost to Secret Service funding in the aftermath of two assassination attempts on GOP presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump in the last three months.
Acting Secret Service Director Ron Rowe has had conversations with Congress about more resources since the first attempt in July, and he told The Washington Post last week that was needed to handle the “new reality” of a highly charged political climate.
Among other things, Rowe said the agency is in desperate need of “more counter-snipers and investigators, upgraded armored limousines for motorcades and a greater supply of ballistic glass.”
We are running our people at levels that we have not seen in our protective operations,” Rowe told the Post. “We are burning everything hot right now.”
House leaders put $231 million in new funding in a 12-week extension of federal spending unveiled Sunday, as Congress faces a deadline of Sept. 30 to act to avoid a shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York and President Joe Biden have voiced support for additional funding for the agency.
Members of Congress have been scrutinizing the budget for the Secret Service in the aftermath of a shooting at a Trump rally in July in Butler, Pa. Those concerns were elevated after the Secret Service arrested a man in connection with an assassination attempt Sept. 15 at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.