House Republicans are considering adding additional funding for the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) as part of a short-term spending plan aimed at averting a partial government shutdown on October 1.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, is preparing to vote Wednesday night on a plan to avert a government shutdown, a six-month spending supplement known as a continuing resolution (CR), that comes bundled with a measure requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote.
Given Republicans’ strong opposition to CR of any kind and Democrats’ opposition to the Protect American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, the bill is likely to fail.
Several House Republicans speaking to Fox News Digital on Wednesday suggested they were prepared for a CR by December without conservative policies, which is the position of the Senate Democratic majority.
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Congress has focused its investigations on the Secret Service following two assassination attempts on former President Trump. (Getty Images)
Several Republican lawmakers who spoke to Fox News Digital also suggested some sort of combination of additional funding for the USSS could also garner broad support, especially in light of the recent assassination attempt on former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.
Rep. John Duarte (R-Calif.), the most vulnerable House Republican in the November election, told Fox News Digital that he would support such a move if Wednesday's vote was rejected.
“We've had two attempts on the president in the last month or two and we know how devastating such an assassination can be for a country, so if things get so bad that we have to increase the Secret Service's budget, it is important for our democracy that we do so,” Duarte said.
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Asked whether a “clean” December election result without conservative policies was inevitable, one House Republican leader told Fox News Digital, “Look, that's history.”
The Republican added that if Wednesday's vote fails, it's “very likely” there will be discussion about additional funding for the USSS as a back-up plan “given what's happened so far.”
The House will vote Wednesday on Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to avert a government shutdown. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“There's a willingness to do it,” said another senior House Republican, but noted logistical questions, including whether additional funding for the USSS could be effective before the election.
“The question is, assuming the funding is available, how do we get it done quickly,” the senior lawmaker said. “It's definitely something they're addressing enough that it's been mentioned, but I haven't been in any strategy meetings about it.”
“I think most of us understand that the Senate is obviously not going to take up our bill, so they're just going to give us a three-month extension and send it back,” another House Republican said. “If we don't take up the bill, I don't know what other options we have.”
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The second Republican argued there is strong appetite among House Republicans to add more USSS funding to the short-term spending bill.
“We've spent an incredibly long time working on an appropriations bill that we know is not going to get any progress in the Senate, and that's what will eventually happen,” a third House Republican said of the CR without the SAVE Act.
But other Republicans argued that if that were the case, Congress should not consider a request to combine CR and emergency USSS funds.
“I'm more concerned about leadership than I am about the budget,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-Fla.) told Fox News Digital.
U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Roe Jr. testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol on July 30, 2024, about the security failures that led to the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump. (Chip Somodevilla)
“The Secret Service has a priority problem. I don't think they have a funding problem,” said Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Rep. Byron Donald, R-Fla., similarly said the USSS's problems are “systemic,” not financial.
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“This is common sense. For example, why doesn't the White House say, 'Donald Trump is a former president and now he's running for president. We can't treat him the same as any other candidate for president,'” Donald said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Johnson's office for comment.
Meanwhile, the House will also vote Friday on a bipartisan bill that would give President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris the same level of Secret Service protection as President Biden.
