Former federal lawmakers and current members of Congress agreed Monday that former President Donald Trump should receive enhanced Secret Service protection, a day after they voted to halt the deal. Second assassination attempt foiled in 64 days,
Former Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan told the Post that Trump, 78, needed an enhanced security presence given the severity of the threats he faced — including a Assassination plot by suspected Iranian agent foiled — and stressed that the Department of Homeland Security is fully capable of providing such a defense.
“The resources devoted to their protection should be commensurate with the threats,” said Morgan, who spent nearly two decades in the FBI before serving in the US Border Patrol and CBP. “And I would say the same thing whether it's (former) President (Bill) Clinton or former President (Barack) Obama.”
“When something clearly fails,” he said, “the response is always, ‘Well, let’s just throw more money and more people at it.’” “And often in government, that’s not really the answer.”
“The U.S. Secret Service should unilaterally increase Donald Trump's security based on the threat level, rather than using the outdated rules of protected person status on paper,” said Lora Reese, former acting deputy chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security.
“Trump is probably the most at-risk person in the world, facing threats from both domestic and foreign adversaries, including an assassination plot by Iran to avenge the death of Iranian Gen. (Qassem) Soleimani during Trump's presidency,” Rees said. “Based on that threat, he should be afforded the maximum level of protection. If the Secret Service cannot or will not provide such full protection, then Trump should use personal security.”
Congress members were also unanimous in demanding immediate implementation of security protocols in view of the alleged conspiracy. Ryan Wesley RouthAn attempt was made to kill Trump, 58, at his eponymous golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“Two assassination attempts in 60 days on a former president and the Republican nominee are unacceptable,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), one of the few Democrats Demand for resignation of then Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle The first assassination attempt was made on Trump on July 13 at an election rally in Pennsylvania.
“The Secret Service should come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the security perimeter, and it should be allocated that same day in a bipartisan vote,” Khanna said. couple on Sunday evening.
“I have seen a lot,” Chime on Sunday night. “If Congress has to force the Secret Service to protect Donald Trump, that’s what we’re going to do.”
“President Trump needs the most coverage today,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning. “He's been attacked the most. He's in the most danger, probably more so than when he was in the Oval Office.”
Johnson (R-La.) said the House would “demand” that the former president be awarded “every available asset.”
“This second failure now requires a legislative solution,” Jonathan Wilcox, a senior aide to Issa, told the Post, claiming that the Secret Service’s “words are not enough” after two high-profile, near-fatal incidents.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) announced on monday She was also sending a letter to acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, who replaced Cheatle after he stepped down, requesting that Trump receive “the same protection as President Biden.”
Ruth Lurking in a makeshift sniper's nest After nearly 12 hours of play on the 6th hole at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach, the barrel of his SKS-style rifle was spotted by a Secret Service agent walking ahead of the 45th president.
The agent opened fire — but Routh fled the scene without injury and was later arrested after a traffic stop on Interstate 95.
The shootings in Butler, Pennsylvania — where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired from 130 yards and killed rallygoer Corey Comperatore, striking Trump in his right ear and seriously wounding 57-year-old David Deutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver — and the West Palm Beach shooting, where Routh may have fired from about 300 yards away, were both “straightforward” incidents according to Morgan, making it “incredible” that any potential killer was able to make his move.
Morgan noted that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “has some latitude to reallocate funding” to increase security — and he's been doing so “since day one” to facilitate the record number of migrants entering the southern border.
The former CBP chief also said Mayorkas has more than 80,000 armed agents to deploy in various security operations, making manpower no longer an issue.
“He actually oversees a department that has more sworn law enforcement officers than any other department in the United States,” Morgan said of Mayorkas, citing additional DHS agents who were part of the security footprint for Trump’s Butler rally on July 13.
“When I worked for the FBI, we beefed up the Secret Service. When I was a police officer for the LAPD, we beefed up the Secret Service,” Morgan said. “So, in my opinion, the resources are there.”
“For their security mission they have approximately 3,600 agents, approximately 1,600 uniformed and 2,000 technical administrative support personnel to carry out the mission,” he said. “They will always have to rely on state, local and other federal agencies to augment their security detail.”
“In Butler, it wasn't a resources issue. They had plenty of that at the state and local level, right? It was a command-decision issue with respect to decisions that had been made before,” Morgan said.
“I say the same thing about this latest assassination attempt, there was a conscious decision by leadership not to put security resources and surveillance in place to protect that street.”
That assessment was reiterated by Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw at a press conference Sunday, when he said the streets would be safer if Trump were president.
Following the first assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, Mayorkas announced that the Secret Service had “enhanced” the former president's security.
“I cannot discuss the specifics of security or enhancements made, as this involves sensitive tactics and procedures,” Mayorkas said on July 15. “However, I can say that personnel and other protective resources, technology and capabilities have been added.”
But an anonymous Secret Service whistleblower, in an email sent to the agency's Uniformed Division on July 29 that was made public last month, reportedly warned top officials that they “One should expect another assassination attempt“Given the failure to address security flaws at Butler.
The bulletproof glass has since been used at rallies by both Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
“The rhetoric, the lies, as evidenced by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to harm me, then Kamala’s, political rival, have elevated politics in our country to a whole new level of hate, abuse, and mistrust,” Trump thundered on his Truthout social and X accounts Monday afternoon.
Minutes earlier, he thanked the Secret Service and the Palm Beach County sheriff “for the incredible job” they did after spying on Routh at a golf course “that kept me, as the 45th president of the United States, and as the Republican candidate in the upcoming presidential election, safe.”
“The work that was done was absolutely fantastic,” he said. “I am so proud to be an American!”
Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday condemned the planned political violence.
“As I've said many times, there is no place in our country for political violence or violence of any kind, and I've directed my team to ensure that the Secret Service has all the resources, capabilities and protective measures necessary to ensure the former president's continued safety,” Biden said in a statement.
“I am deeply troubled by today's possible assassination attempt on former President Trump. As we gather the facts, let me be clear: I condemn political violence. We must all do our part to ensure this event does not lead to more violence,” Harris said.
Secret Service representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
