Congress mulls new Secret Service funding after apparent attempt on Trump's life
Congress is considering boosting funding for the Secret Service after an apparent second assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
WASHINGTON — Congress is considering boosting funding for the Secret Service after what the FBI called an apparent second attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life in 10 weeks.
Leaders of both parties and top appropriators say one possibility is to attach emergency funding for the Secret Service to a short-term funding bill that Congress must pass by Sept. 30 to avert a government shutdown.
But they’re also studying another option: giving the Secret Service the opportunity to shift resources and spend more money to guard protectees in the final stretch of the campaign.
“Congress has a responsibility to ensure the Secret Service and all law enforcement have the resources they need to do their jobs," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a floor speech Monday. "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.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, vice chair and ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee, which drafts funding bills, said Monday that Congress is open to a funding boost. But she also pointed to a letter acting Secret Service Director Ron Rowe sent to top appropriators on Sept. 5 saying the security failure in the first Trump assassination attempt on July 13 was not the result of inadequate resources.
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