Congress is working to ensure the security of presidential candidates in the final weeks of the campaign

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers are scrambling to ensure the U.S. Secret Service has enough money and resources to keep the nation’s presidential candidates safe amid repeated threats of violence. But it’s unclear how much they can do just weeks before the election, or if the extra dollars would have an immediate impact.

The efforts come after former President Donald Trump’s assassination attempt at a rally in July and after Secret Service agents arrested a man hiding on the golf course of Trump’s Florida club over the weekend. The suspect in Florida also apparently tried to assassinate the GOP presidential candidate.

Democrats and Republicans have been holding talks with the agency this week to determine whether additional resources are needed. And the House will vote Friday on legislation that would require the agency to use the same standards in appointing agents for major presidential and vice presidential candidates as it does for sitting presidents and vice presidents.

“Luck can’t be a Secret Service strategy to stop these companies,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who himself was shot in 2017 at a baseball practice with colleagues. “The Secret Service needs to do better.”

With the election fast approaching and Congress out of town before October, lawmakers are scrambling to figure out what can help, hoping to assess the agency’s most pressing needs while making sure they’re doing everything they can in an era when political violence has become more common and every politician is a target.

“We have an obligation here in Congress to get to the bottom of it to find out why these things are happening and what we can do about it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday. “This is not a partisan issue. Both sides are working on it.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday that “we need to put the Secret Service in a position where its patrons are protected in the best possible way.”

After the July shooting, House Republicans created a bipartisan task force focused on investigating the security breach that day and making sure it doesn’t happen again. Johnson said this week that the task force is expanding its scope to include what happened in Florida, even though the Secret Service was able to arrest the suspect before anyone was hurt. Parliament could soon vote on expanding the panel’s mandate.

In a letter earlier this month, the Secret Service told lawmakers that a lack of funding was not the reason for Trump’s security measures when a gunman climbed onto an unsecured roof at a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and opened fire. But acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said this week that the agency had “immediate needs” and would speak with Congress.

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the Democratic chairman of the spending subcommittee that oversees the Secret Service, said Congress wants to make sure that if it spends new dollars, “it helps the situation between now and the inauguration.”

Murphy said the new funds could be used for technology such as a drone, partnerships with other agencies that could provide immediate assistance and overtime compensation for agents. It would likely be included in an interim funding bill that Congress is considering next week to keep the government running, either by allowing the Secret Service to spend money more quickly or by giving them emergency dollars.

“I’m sure we’re going to take care of this one way or another,” Murphy said.

The agency says it will do what it can. Secret Service officials have told lawmakers behind closed doors that they have already increased Trump’s security to the same level as Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden.

“There are a handful of special assets that only the commander in chief gets, but the rest of his protections are at the same level,” Rep. Spencer Love, a Democrat on the House task force, said after the agency briefed members on Wednesday.

That could make the GOP House legislation redundant, at least for now. But lawmakers have said they want to make sure Trump is protected after two people tried to end his life.

“I encourage every one of my colleagues, regardless of their political views, whether they like one candidate or not, to recognize the fundamental fact that we have a responsibility to ensure their safety and well-being. The American people decide who becomes president, not an assassin and not an assassin’s bullet,” said Republican Representative Mike Lawler, one of the sponsors of the law to be voted on by the parliament on Friday.

In the Senate, Senator Rick Scott of Florida has also introduced a bill that would mandate similar protections for presidential candidates. Both bills would also require regular reports to Congress on the status of candidate protection.

Republicans have argued that reforming the agency and potentially reallocating agents should be more important than funding.

Scalise noted this week that the Secret Service has received regular budget increases in recent years.

“It’s not about the money,” Scalise said, but “what they do with the money.”

Rep. Mike Waltz, a Republican on the task force, said he pressed Secret Service officials Wednesday about what new resources they need, and they said they were still evaluating.

“I think it’s irresponsible to throw money at it when they’re not even sure what exactly they need and how quickly they’re going to get it,” the Florida lawmaker said, adding that he hopes the agency will move to a more threat-focused approach. to protect officials and candidates.

However, it is unclear whether Republicans will fight the increase in funding.

“It’s been implicitly made clear that they’re stretched pretty thin,” said Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey, a member of the task force. “I know some people see a $3 billion budget and think that should be enough. But when you look at where all the bodies have to go, it’s a problem.”