US House passes bill boosting candidates’ Secret Service protection
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US House of Representatives on Friday unanimously approved a bill to boost Secret Service protection for presidential election candidates after two assassination plots targeted Donald Trump.
The bill passed 405-0 and now goes to a vote in the Senate.
It requires the Secret Service to provide the same protection to major candidates in an election as sitting presidents and vice presidents.
The legislation was introduced on July 23, 10 days after Trump was wounded in the ear in a shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, where one of his supporters was killed before the gunman was shot dead.
The bill passed after a second apparent assassination attempt targeted Trump, in which a suspect was arrested on Sunday after being spotted while hiding with an assault-style rifle at the edge of Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The gunman did not have a line of sight on the former president and failed to fire a shot before he was discovered, according to the Secret Service, which insisted it provided the “highest level” of protection for Trump.
Trump has sought to blame election rival Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for the plots, citing their “rhetoric” about him endangering democracy.
Both Biden and Harris denounced the assassination bids, with Biden calling for Congress to provide more resources for the Secret Service.