Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are looking for ways to increase their security following a slew of high-profile political attacks in recent weeks, including the Sept. 10 assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Members of Congress are pressing for stronger protections amid heightened fears of political violence, including increases in security funding, full-time security details, and other options for increased security, Politico reported Friday.
“It’s not a one size fits all situation,” Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett told the DCNF Friday. “Leadership needs to understand that different Members have different security needs.”
“Given that member security is an issue of national security, I cannot comment on the nature of what changes are going to be made,” Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna told the DCNF Friday. “I’m very thankful to President Trump for advocating for our safety in his public comments.”
“Member security is a joke up here, the idea that I’m going to walk across the street right there and there’s not going to be any Capitol police, and then I’ll walk inside and there’ll be 6-7,” Burchett told reporters outside of the Capitol on Sept. 15, five days after Kirk’s killing. “Again, our leadership has their protective bubble, they got their Suburbans, and they’re three deep everywhere they go with security, and the rest of us are just out here in the wind.”
At home, members face a peculiar dilemma, forced to forego taxpayer-funded security renovations — such as fences or bulletproof windows—due to conflicts of interest in increasing home value with taxpayer dollars, Politico reportedFriday.
“They can find that money just like that for the war pimps, but for us it’s a little different,” Burchett said in an interview, according to Politico.
“Every office has a law enforcement coordinator in their office,” Republican Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil told reporters on Sept. 17. “We’re providing that information to those offices, as these concerns have become heightened. I think a lot more members have been more proactive in making sure that they understand the programs that are already available.”
The calls for security come in the wake of the Kirk’s assassination following a summer plagued by political violence, including the shooting of two Minnesota state lawmakers in June, the fatal shooting of a Capitol Hill intern in June and the burning of the Pennsylvania governor’s residence in April.
“It’s an old saying: We gotta close the barn doors when the cows get out,” Burchett told reporters on the 15th. “And the cows get out when somebody gets shot or hurt up here, and leadership is still gonna’ be having a committee hearing over something, or checking their calculators, seeing if we can afford it.”
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