First appeared on FOX: A group of House lawmakers wants the next director of the U.S. Secret Service to go through a rigorous Senate confirmation process before taking over as head of a key security agency.
Currently, the director of the Secret Service is appointed by the president without the consent of the legislature, unlike cabinet members and judges, who require Senate confirmation.
But following the assassination attempt on former President Trump last month, lawmakers are pushing for greater accountability and greater transparency from the agency.
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The new House bill would require the director of the Secret Service to be confirmed by the Senate following the July 13 Trump rally that led to the firing of Director Kimberly Cheatle. (Getty Images)
Lawmakers and other investigators are demanding to know how a 20-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle was able to open fire on a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, from a rooftop just outside the security perimeter, despite being spotted by both police and civilians before opening fire.
One rally attendee was killed and two others seriously injured but survived the shooting on July 13. Trump himself was shot in the ear and had to be hurriedly evacuated from the stage by security guards.
The ensuing outrage forced the resignation of former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who was appointed by President Biden in 2022. She was replaced by Acting Director Ronald Lowe.
If the new bill, led by Rep. August Plueger (R-Texas) and supported by five other Republicans, passes, any president-elected head of the agency would have to attend Senate hearings, pass a vote in a committee and then pass a vote by the full House.
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The bill was introduced by Representative August Plueger of Texas. (Getty Images)
According to a bill text first obtained by Fox News Digital, the bill would also require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide justification for national security decisions to the president and vice presidential nominees within 14 days of making them.
“In today’s extremely divisive political climate, the Secretary of Homeland Security owes every presidential candidate a fair, neutral, timely and transparent consideration of USSS protection,” Pfluger told Fox News Digital. “Our country has been on the brink of a presidential assassination, and we must provide appropriate security for every presidential candidate, regardless of party.”
He added that making the director of the Secret Service a Senate-confirmed position would ensure that the person appointed is “competent and apolitical.”
According to reports, President Trump had been denied multiple requests for increased Secret Service security ahead of his July 13 rally. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a third-party candidate, was also denied Secret Service protection, but President Biden ordered the decision reversed days after the shooting at the rally.
Acting Director of the Secret Service tells Senate that Trump shooting was ‘Secret Service failure’
Fox News Digital reached out to the office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York to ask whether he supports the confirmation process for the Secret Service director.
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Current co-signers of the bill include Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Rep. Corey Mills (R-FL), Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) and Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY).
A similar bill was introduced in the Senate last month on a bipartisan basis by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). In addition to requiring Senate approval, the bill would also impose 10-year term limits on the director position.
