Sen. Mike Lee: Trump deserves same security as sitting president after second attack

After former President Donald Trump faced a second assassination attempt on Sunday, congressional lawmakers and political leaders have called for more funding to be diverted to the Secret Service in order to supplement the former president’s security.
The Secret Service was already facing scrutiny for failing to protect Trump two months ago, when a bullet grazed his ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Over the weekend, while Trump was golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, a Secret Service agent, shot at a suspect with a rifle, which was “poking out of the tree line,” according to the criminal complaint, obtained by CNN. The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, fled the scene but was arrested later on Sunday.
Whether it’s more funding, a change in leadership, or something else altogether, Congress is asking the Secret Service for more information about what transpired on Sept. 15, and what it needs to protect Trump.
Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee at a press conference Tuesday said he appreciated the Secret Service taking action to protect Trump, but the armed suspect came “too close for comfort.”
“There are all kinds of reasons why the sitting president needs a large amount of security,” Lee said. But, he argued, Trump, the Republican nominee, having already faced two life-threatening situations, needs the same level or a comparable level of protection that is enjoyed, typically, by the president. “That isn’t too much to ask,” the GOP senator said.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, during a press conference on Sept. 15, said that Trump did not have the same level of protection a sitting president would.
“If he was (president), we would have had the entire golf course surrounded but, because he’s not, security is limited to the areas the Secret Service deems possible,” Bradshaw said. “I would imagine the next time (Trump) comes to the golf course, there would probably be a little more people around the perimeter.”
Lee blamed Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, for characterizing Trump “as a threat to democracy.” Such rhetoric creates “inevitable risk,” he said.
Lee and seven other Republican senators wrote a letter to Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe requesting Trump to be assigned as many agents as a sitting president would.
“President Trump’s team has acknowledged that he is operating with a detail unequal to the threat environment and has repeatedly appealed to the USSS for more protective resources,” the letter stated. It noted that the Trump campaign’s requests have been previously denied.
The letter asked the federal law enforcement agency to provide a closed-door briefing. It also asked the agency to highlight what additional resources the Secret Service allocated following the Biden administration’s order to enhance Trump’s protection on July 15.
In the lower chamber, the House bipartisan task force on the attempted assassination of Trump also requested a member-level briefing this week in a letter.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.,who visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago after the incident occurred, in an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Monday said Trump will have everything he needs to be protected, but added he doesn’t think it’s a “funding issue.”
“President Trump needs the most coverage of anyone. He’s the most attacked. He’s the most threatened,” Johnson said, blaming it on poor allocation of agents. The speaker is more focused on getting the continuing resolution, or CR, passed. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act, is attached to this funding measure. Johnson canceled a vote on this version of the continuing resolution last week because of a lack of support.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in his remarks on the floor, said additional resources for the Secret Service can be attached to the spending bills.
“We all must do our part to ensure an incident like this does not happen again. This means that Congress has a responsibility to ensure the Secret Service and all law enforcement have the resources they need to do their jobs,” Schumer said, as Fox News reported. “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.”
Biden backed the idea of congressional action to support the Secret Service, he told reporters Monday, “One thing I want to make clear: The Service needs more help.” He added that Congress should give the Secret Service what it needs, “if they, in fact, need more Service people.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated Biden’s support for the Secret Service to have the resources it needs to complete missions in a press briefing Tuesday.
She also noted that the White House’s Office of Management and Budget provided Congress “with a list of budget needs to avoid disruption to government services through the first quarter of the fiscal year,” as lawmakers considered a short-term stopgap bill to keep the government funded.
“One of those requests submitted was for the U.S. Secret Service,” Jean-Pierre said, adding it would ensure the federal law enforcement agency can fulfill its duty, including the responsibilities related to the 2024 presidential campaign.
Congress has appropriated $3.1 billion to the Secret Service this fiscal year, roughly $266 million more than in fiscal year 2023, as NBC News reported. But because of heightened concerns over the law enforcement agency’s inner workings, Secret Service leadership will likely have to answer hard questions from lawmakers before requests for more money would be fulfilled.