Rebeka Zeljko
Speaker Mike Johnson introduced a short term spending bill on Sunday that includes $231 million of additional funding for the U.S. Secret Service.
Johnson’s new continuing resolution (CR), which will fund the government through Dec. 20, is set to be voted on less than a week before Friday’s fiscal deadline in order to avert a government shutdown. Johnson introduced the three month continuing resolution after his first funding bill, that included an attached bill requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration, failed a vote in the House on Wednesday.
“While this is not the solution any of us prefer, it is the most prudent path forward under the present circumstances,” Johnson said in a letter Sunday. “As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice.”
“From now until election day, I will continue with my tireless efforts and singular focus of growing our majority for the 119th Congress,” Johnson continued. “It is my great honor to serve with you all in these historic days. The future of our exceptional nation directly depends upon our success, and I am confident that together we will prevail!”
Johnson’s initial CR was scheduled for a vote the previous week on Sept. 11, but was abruptly pulled by the speaker that same day in order to “build consensus” within the party before he reintroduced the bill. Johnson’s six-month CR and attached SAVE Act was blocked by 14 Republicans, who mainly cited fiscal concerns, as well as 206 Democrats.
Although the CR would force lawmakers to renegotiate a funding bill before Christmas, Republican House leadership staff emphasized during a press call on Sunday that the speaker intends to avoid resorting to a spending omnibus.
The additional $231 million of funding for the Secret Service came two months after the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and just a week after the second assassination attempt. In the aftermath of the most recent attempt last Sunday, the House unanimously passed a bill Friday that would bolster Secret Service protections for ‘major’ presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Although the bill, titled the “Enhanced Presidential Security Act,” passed overwhelmingly, some Republican lawmakers have reservations about giving the Secret Service additional funding.
“I will not support more funding until the Secret Service is restructured from the top down,” Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “It is clear there has been a failure of leadership and competency, and throwing more money at the issue won’t fix the root problems. We need accountability and reform first. The American people deserve answers.”
“No more funding for the Secret Service,” Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee told the DCNF. “Acting Director Rowe saw himself that the July 13 failures weren’t because of a lack of resources. They were clearly the result of a lack of leadership. Get rid of every public policy that puts DEI hires in any position, including leadership, make sure everyone in the Secret Service is the most qualified for the position.”
Johnson maintains that additional funding is just one way to reform the Secret Service, and has said he is looking at “all aspects of it.”
“I think it’s a matter of manpower allocation,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “We don’t want to just throw more money at a broken system. We’re looking at all aspects of it, and we’ll make the right determination,” he added at the time.
On July 13, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks aimed at fired shots at the former President from a rooftop positioned just 130 yards from the rally stage in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Crooks was reportedly spotted by rally attendees and witnesses, flagged by Secret Service, and even identified by a local counter sniper over an hour before Trump stepped on stage.
Just two months later, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh attempted to assassinate Trump while he was golfing at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. Routh was quickly arrested after his “AK-47 style rifle with a scope” was spotted on the course by a Secret Service agent.
Featured Image: Screen Capture/CSPAN
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