House unanimously votes to boost Trump security as Congress scrambles to ensure candidate safety

A U.S. Secret Service agent stands watch outside a campaign bus for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. We have both parties working on it.” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Thursday that “we’ve got to get the Secret Service into a position where its protectees are shielded in the most maximum way possible.” Democrats and Republicans have been in talks with the agency this week to find out whether additional resources are needed. Connecticut Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, the Democratic chairman of the spending subcommittee that oversees the Secret Service, said Congress wants to make sure that if it is spending new dollars, “it’s going to help the situation between now and the inauguration.” Murphy said new money could go toward technology like drones, partnerships with other agencies that could provide immediate assistance and overtime pay for agents. But acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. said this week that the agency had “immediate needs.” Secret Service officials also told lawmakers behind closed doors that they have already increased Trump’s security to the same level as that of Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden. “It’s not about the money,” Scalise said, but “what they’re doing with the money.” Rep. Mike Waltz, a Florida Republican on the task force, said that he pushed Secret Service officials Wednesday on what new resources they needed and that they said they were still evaluating.