First appearance on FOXSen. Rick Scott (R-FL) has led several Republican senators in an effort to strengthen U.S. Secret Service (USSS) protection for presidential candidates in the wake of the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“In just 65 days, two psychopaths attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, one of whom succeeded in shooting him in the head,” Scott wrote in introducing the Presidential Protection Act.
“It is inconceivable that something like this could happen in America today. We need immediate action from Congress,” he said.
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Senator Rick Scott's bill would enshrine presidential candidates as entitled to the same protections as the sitting president. (Reuters)
“Today, I lead my Republican colleagues in introducing the Presidential Protection Act, which would require the USSS to provide the same level of protective services to presidential candidates that it provides to a sitting president.”
“President Trump has great officers and investigators working around the clock to keep him safe, but it's clear that the left's vile rhetoric against President Trump has targeted him and additional resources are needed to ensure his and his family's safety. Senate Democrats join our Republican colleagues in urging you to swiftly pass this bill to help protect President Trump and all future presidential candidates.”
The Florida Republican is joined by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Ted Budd (R-North Carolina) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) as co-sponsors.
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The bill would require the Secret Service to provide presidential candidates with the same level of protection as the current president, but candidates would have the right to opt out.
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.
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FBI agents remove boxes of evidence from around the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Mega from Fox News Digital)
Additionally, Scott's bill would require the Secret Service to provide regular reports to House and Senate leaders on the status of candidate protection, including threat levels, security measures, costs, allocated staffing levels and unmet needs.
On Wednesday, the Secret Service told Fox News that President Trump was receiving the same level of security during Sunday's second assassination attempt as he has while in office. In fact, the Secret Service told Fox News that not only has President Trump's security been stepped up since the first assassination attempt, which took place in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, but that it helped thwart Sunday's assassination attempt.
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Acting Director of the U.S. Secret Service Ronald Rowe Jr. speaks to reporters at a press conference to provide an update on the investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Mega from Fox News Digital)
The USSS said President Biden, President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are being equipped with counter-sniper, counter-assault, counter-surveillance, protective intelligence and drone units.
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This high level of protection for presidential candidates would be codified under Scott's bill.
The House is scheduled to vote Friday on a similar bill, which has bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, that would give major presidential candidates the same protections as the sitting president.
