Twice in two months, we've reported about gunmen who tried to assassinate Donald Trump. One got close, grazing his ear with a bullet on July 13 in Butler, Pa., while another would-be shooter didn't get a shot off but was ready to try to kill Trump at his Palm Beach, Fla., golf course on Sunday.
Republicans have been calling for increased protection for the former president. On Sunday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who had his own encounter with a would-be assassin in 2017, posted on Facebook:
Authorities just acknowledged if President Trump was president, they'd do more to protect him.
This must change.
There have been TWO attempts on Trump’s life.
Secret Service must up their level of protection of him to their FULL capabilities—including expanding the perimeter.
Congress is now considering a budget increase for the Secret Service. Naturally, the budget showdown and looming potential government shutdown — both of which seem to be a feature and not a bug these days — are complicating the discussions.
"The Secret Service's request for more funding following the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump's life has complicated budget negotiations amid the threat of a government shutdown," reports Just the News. "The agency has held private meetings with lawmakers on the matter ahead of the funding deadline in two weeks for Congress to approve the appropriations for the next fiscal year."
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe sent a letter to congressional leaders stating that his agency needed more resources. This came after member of the Senate asked if more funding would help the Secret Service. Joe Biden has also called for increased funding after two attempts on Trump's life.
"Biden suggested the agency needed more resources Monday morning, when the suspect in Sunday’s attempted assassination made a court appearance in Florida on two firearm charges," reports Roll Call.
“One thing I want to make clear is: the Service needs more help,” Biden said to reporters. “And I think Congress should respond to their need.”
He makes it sound so simple — like Congress can just cut a check and hand it over to Rowe. But the Secret Service is part of the byzantine federal budget, and it's subject to the already contentious funding process.
Related: Republicans React to the Second Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said that he would consider adding Secret Service funding to the upcoming spending resolution.
“Congress has a responsibility to ensure the Secret Service and all law enforcement have the resources they need to do their job,” he said in a speech. “So as we continue the appropriations process, if the Secret Service is in need of more resources, we are… prepared to provide it for them, possibly in the upcoming funding agreement.”
However, members of the House from both parties aren't sure that throwing more money at the agency will solve the problems that plague it.
“President Trump needs the most coverage of anyone,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on "Fox & Friends." “He’s the most attacked, he’s the most threatened, even probably more than when he was in the Oval Office. So we are demanding in the House that he have every asset available and we will make more available if necessary. I don’t think it’s a funding issue. I think it’s a manpower allocation.”
“Two assassination attempts in 60 days on a former President & the Republican nominee is unacceptable,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) posted on Facebook. “The Secret Service must come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the protective perimeter, & let’s allocate it in a bipartisan vote the same day.”
Johnson and Khanna are right. Politicians and bureaucrats can debate giving more funds to the Secret Service until they're blue in the face, but the agency that is supposed to be protecting Trump needs to do more with the money and manpower that it already has. It's time for the Secret Service to get more serious about protecting him.
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