Trump administration seeks $58 million security boost after Charlie Kirk assassination
The Trump administration is asking Congress to approve an additional $58 million for security to protect the executive and judicial branches following the assassination of Charlie Kirka leadership aide confirmed to NBC News on Sunday.
The Trump administration supports adding more money to protect members of Congress, too, but deferred to the legislative branch on how to do that, the leadership aide told NBC News.
The request comes as Republicans and Democrats negotiate a stopgap funding bill and as lawmakers have beefed up their personal security, moved events indoors or canceled them altogether following Kirk’s killing in Utah and an uptick in political violence overall.
Kirk’s assassination was the latest in a string of incidents, including the killing of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and the wounding of her Democratic colleague and spouse, an arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence and the two assassination attempts against President Donald Trump last summer.
Punchbowl News first reported the administration’s request.
In the wake of the Kirk assassination, House Democrats held a conference call Sunday night focused on the issue of protecting lawmakers amid a rising number of security threats.
According to two sources on the private call, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told lawmakers he and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are discussing extending boosted security spending in the wake of the Kirk shooting. The enhanced spending expires at the end of the fiscal year on Sept 30.
The boosted spending includes doubling to $20,000 the lifetime amount members can spend to secure their homes under the Residential Security Program. Previously, members could spend up to $10,000.
It also calls for increasing lawmakers’ security monitoring and maintenance allotment to $5,000 per month. That allotment may be used to pay for personal security services.
The extra security spending was put in place just before members left for their summer recess at the end of July, after the targeted shootings of Minnesota Democratic state lawmakers.
Spouses and significant others were invited to join Sunday night’s Zoom call, and some House Democrats shared personal stories about their fears and frustrations related to their personal safety.
One lawmaker shared that they felt intimidated by someone who’s been showing up at their church, according to one of the sources on the call.
Another felt that local law enforcement hasn’t been responsive enough to him when he’s back in his district, the source said.
Reacting to the administration’s additional funding request, some lawmakers expressed support Sunday, saying they hope Congress will “step up” and agree to bulk up funding for security, citing an uptick in political violence.
“I hope we will invest in securing our public life, because incidents like this tragedy in Utah, like the murder of Melissa and her husband, Mark Hortman, in Minnesota, frankly, fuel further anger in our country,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said during a joint interview with Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“And the ways in which folks are then taking the horrific images of these incidents and propagating them on the internet adds fuel to the fire.”
Lankford agreed with Coons’ remarks, saying the funding goes beyond protecting individuals and also safeguards the country’s ability to have civil discourse.
“When we’re talking about protecting judges and protecting individuals, it’s not just their personal safety. It is really declaring to the nation that we believe that these tasks are hard, that there should be intense debate, that we have very different perspectives,” Lankford said.
