WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives on Friday unanimously passed a bill to enhance Secret Service protection for candidates of presidential elections after two assassination plots targeted Donald Trump.
The bill passed by 405-0 and now goes for voting in the Senate. It needs the Secret Service to provide the same protection to all major candidates in an election as sitting presidents and vice presidents.
The law was introduced on July 23, 10 days after Trump was injured in the ear in a shooting at a Pennsylvania election campaign rally, where one of his supporters was killed before the gunman was shot dead.
The legislation passed after a second apparent assassination attempt targeted Trump, in which a suspect was apprehended on Sunday after being spotted while hiding with an assault-style rifle near the Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The gunman could not see the former president on the site and failed to fire a shot before he was discovered, said the Secret Service, which insisted it provided the highest level of protection for Trump.
Trump has blamed election rival Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for the plots, citing their statements about him endangering democracy.
Both Biden and Harris condemned the assassination bids, with Biden calling for Congress to provide more resources for the Secret Service.
