The House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill Friday, September 20, to increase the US Secret Service protections for major presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Introduced by Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY), the bill was inspired by the first attempt on Donald Trump’s life, when a young gunman grazed the former president’s ear during a rally in Butler, PA, on July 13. The 405 to 0 vote today represents a rare sense of bipartisanship and urgency in Congress.
If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the Enhanced Presidential Security Act will require a comprehensive review and update of Secret Service standards for the president, vice president, and major candidates during election cycles.
As for what exactly a “major” candidate is, the “definition” section of the bill reads:
“In this Act, the term ‘major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates’ has the meaning given such term in section 3056 of title 18, United States Code, and includes any other Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate for whom the President has otherwise authorized the Secret Service to protect.”
That particular bit of US Code explains that “the term ‘major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates’ means those individuals identified as such by the Secretary of Homeland Security after consultation with an advisory committee consisting of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and one additional member selected by the other members of the committee.”
In short, no one who is already denied Secret Service protection – like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during his candidacy – is likely to benefit from this law. Additionally, the bill states actions must be taken “Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.” With just a quarter of that time remaining until election day, it seems unlikely the bill will have much if any effect on this election cycle.
“Regardless of how every American feels, regardless of how every American intends to vote, it is the right of the American people to determine the outcome of this election,” Lawler said during the bill’s debate period on Thursday. “The idea that our election could be decided by an assassin’s bullet should shake the conscience of our nation, and it requires swift action by the federal government.”
Lawler said it was shocking it took a second assassination attempt for this bill to come to a vote.
