The U.S. Secret Service has asked Congress to bump its annual $3 billion budget after a second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Sunday, Punchbowl News reported Tuesday.
Just two weeks ahead of a looming government shutdown, some lawmakers are calling for an increase in the Secret Service’s budget, while others argue they simply need new leadership, Punchbowl reported. These talks were sparked after 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested after allegedly attempting to assassinate Trump on Sunday at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“Success, we have to have it every day,” Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe said during a news conference Monday. “We cannot have failures. And in order to do that, we’re going to have some hard conversations with Congress.”
“We also have the necessary need to make sure that we’re getting the personnel that we have.” Rowe said during the press conference. “And that requires us to be able to have the funding to be able to hire more people. You can’t just give me money and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to make sure that everybody gets overtime.’ Because the men and women of the Secret Service, right now, we’re redlining them, and they are rising to this moment and they are meeting the challenges right now.”
Routh’s “AK-47 style rifle with a scope” was spotted by a Secret Service agent on the golf course which led the convicted felon to be arrested and charged with federal gun crimes.
The second alleged assassination attempt came just two months after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired multiple shots and wounded Trump at a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Multiple whistleblowers have since come forward regarding numerous security lapses that took place, giving Crooks the opportunity to take aim at the former President from a rooftop position just 130 yards from the stage.
In the aftermath of Routh’s alleged attempt, top lawmakers have pledged to provide the Secret Service with any additional funding and resources that they request.
“There’s no place for political violence in America,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a post on X Monday. “Congress has a responsibility to ensure the Secret Service—and all law enforcement—have the resources they need. As we continue the appropriations process, if Secret Service needs more resources, we are prepared to provide them.”
Congress currently has two weeks to pass a funding bill before the Sept. 30 fiscal deadline in order to avert a government shutdown. The House was set to vote on a continuing resolution last week, but Speaker Mike Johnson promptly pulled the funding bill after it became evident that he did not have enough support to pass it, with Republican lawmakers primarily citing fiscal concerns.
“If the Secret Service substantiates the need, I cannot imagine Congress not meeting that request,” Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Susan Collins told Punchbowl. “There are a lot of demands on the Secret Service, particularly in an election year when President Trump will be all over the country.”
(Featured Image Media Credit:Â Screen Capture/CSPAN)
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