Senate Republicans were outraged Monday after former President Donald Trump was the victim of yet another assassination attempt by authorities, and questioned why Secret Service security had not been beefed up since the Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting two months ago.
Angry and upset, Republican lawmakers returned to the Capitol, blaming the Secret Service for not providing enough security around the former president and Republican presidential candidate.
“They're going to end up killing this guy,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), one of Trump's most staunch supporters in the Senate.
“I hate to say it, but this is intentional. [act] “It's an accusation that we didn't fund things that should have been funded to help him. Hopefully nothing will come of it,” Tuberville said, arguing the issue is about both resource allocation and funding.
The Alabama Republican also noted that while it is important for police to protect the dozens of prominent government officials and individuals under their security jurisdiction, with less than two months to go until the election, Trump must be made a priority.
“Sooner or later, we need to look at who the former president is running for president again. The Republican candidate has already been shot once,” Tuberville continued. “Wake up. Oil is leaking out of here.”
The Secret Service faced major backlash in July after a gunman shot the president in the ear at a rally in western Pennsylvania. Officials were questioned both for inadequate security at the rally and for the lack of intelligence provided in the aftermath. Then-director Kimberly Cheatle resigned after a damning speech before a House committee.
Republicans were quick to point out Monday that their concerns were centered on a lack of security for the former president in public on the golf course, not the agents themselves.
They praised the officer who spotted the barrel of a rifle from several hundred yards away, who opened fire and sent suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, fleeing before being arrested a short time later.
The Secret Service itself said its system worked as designed to protect Trump.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said Monday that Trump has the highest level of protection and that the systems in place around him are working, pointing to the Secret Service's ability to track down would-be assassins and thwart attacks.
“The former president's protective posture enabled early identification of the threat and safe evacuation, and increased assets were deployed yesterday at President Biden's direction,” Rowe said.
But after these two incidents, lawmakers are fed up and wanting some change.
“What is going on? Is anyone safe?” asked Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), who still laments the lack of answers from authorities about the July assassination attempt on the former president.
“This is ridiculous. This guy is plotting another assassination and we're still delaying one from two months ago?” Hawley continued.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have created a committee to investigate what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the committee is due to release its report by December 13. The Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees also held a joint committee hearing on the Butler fiasco in late July.
Leaders across party lines have also backed the call for something to be done.
Biden told reporters that the Secret Service “needs more help” and that lawmakers “should be there to meet their needs.” Johnson, who accompanied Trump to his Mar-a-Lago resort before hitting the golf course, told Fox News on Monday that the House would push to “make all of our assets available” to protect the former president.
“President Trump needs the press more than anyone. He's been attacked the most, he's been threatened the most,” Johnson said, adding that Secret Service “staffing” was an issue.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, also said on the floor that he was open to including additional funding for the Secret Service as part of a government funding measure expected later this month.
“We must all do our part to make sure this never happens again,” Schumer said.
Lawmakers are widely expected to pass a stopgap spending bill, but other details are unclear, including how long it will last and whether there will be other bills attached to it.
But with an election looming, some lawmakers question whether new funding for the Secret Service will actually help.
“You can't train a Secret Service agent in two weeks,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana).
“There are a whole lot of unanswered questions about this,” Kennedy said, blasting the agency. “Stop the evasions, the whitewashing, the excuses, the dog ate my homework and just say this: This is what happened. This is why we missed a guy who was crawling around on a roof with a rifle for a long time. This is why we missed a guy who was hanging around a golf course where a former president plays for 12 hours.”
And whatever the circumstances, lawmakers close to Trump acknowledge that playing golf at his course, parts of which are not cordoned off from public view, is a calculated risk.
“It's still a risk for him to play golf, and he knows that,” said Tuberville, who said he has played on the course with Trump many times. “I know exactly what kind of situation he was in.”
“It's a lot of work for the president to play golf for the Secret Service,” he added. “They need more manpower, both at home and abroad.”
