Weeks after a near-back-to-back assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump, the Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan bill to strengthen Secret Service protection for key presidential candidates.
Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rick Scott (R-FL) have introduced the Presidential Protection Act, which would increase U.S. Secret Service (USSS) protection for presidential candidates to the same level currently given to the sitting president, with the right of opt-out for candidates.
It would also extend presidential-level protections to vice presidential nominees, in this case Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minnesota.
“In just 65 days, two psychopaths attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, one of whom shot himself in the head,” Scott wrote when introducing the bill.
Rick Scott leads Secret Service effort to boost protection after assassination attempt on President Trump
A photo of former US President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris standing side by side. (Getty Images)
Additionally, the bill would require regular reports from the Secret Service to House and Senate leaders on the status of nominees' protection.
The periodic reporting would require officials to submit a report on candidate protection every 15 days during a presidential election year.
Such reports include threat levels, security measures, costs, allocated staffing levels, unmet needs, etc.
The report also includes the threat level of each presidential candidate, the security measures in place, the associated costs, the number of personnel stationed in each security unit, and any unmet security needs.
FBI agents remove boxes of evidence from around the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, September 16, 2024. (Mega from Fox News Digital)
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a press release that the bill would “ensure” all candidates have adequate protections.
“Our country has witnessed two horrific assassination attempts against President Trump, coming so close to creating a catastrophe that would have changed the course of history,” he wrote. “This must never happen again. The Presidential Protection Act would ensure that all presidential nominees receive the same level of protection as the president, ensuring law enforcement has the resources they need to keep President Trump and all nominees safe.”
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Fox News' Julia Johnson, David Spunt and Kelly Phares contributed to this report.
