Senate unanimously passes bill bolstering presidential candidates’ Secret Service protection

In the weeks following the nearly back-to-back assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump, the Senate unanimously passed bipartisan legislation that would boost Secret Service protection to major presidential candidates.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) introduced the Protect Our President Act, which will enhance U.S. Secret Service (USSS) protection for presidential nominees to the same level currently provided for a sitting president. However, a nominee is free to decline this. 

It would additionally extend that presidential-level protection to vice presidential nominees, in this case to Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn.

“Over the course of just 65 days, two deranged individuals have tried to kill President Donald Trump, and one was able to shoot him in the head,” Scott wrote during the bill’s introduction.

RICK SCOTT LEADS EFFORT TO UP SECRET SERVICE PROTECTIONS AFTER 2ND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON TRUMP

Additionally, the bill would require regular reporting from the Secret Service to leaders of the House and Senate on the status of candidates’ protection. 

The regular reporting would mandate that the agency provide a report of the nominee’s protection every 15 days during a presidential election year.

Such reports would include threat levels, security measures, costs, amount of personnel assigned and any needs that are unmet. 

The report would also include the threat level for each presidential nominee, the security measures being implemented, associated costs, the number of personnel permanently assigned to each protective detail, and any unmet security needs.

In a press release, Sen. John Barrasso, R-WY, said that the bill will “ensure” that all candidates receive proper protection.

“Our nation has witnessed two horrifying assassination attempts on President Trump. We were merely inches away from a catastrophic event that would have changed the course of our history,” he wrote. “This cannot happen again. The Protect Our Presidents Act will ensure all presidential nominees receive the same level of protection provided to the president. This will give law enforcement the resources they need to keep President Trump and all of the candidates safe.”

Fox News Julia Johnson, David Spunt and Kelly Phares contributed to this report.