Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) introduced the Counter Secretary Negligence In Protecting Election Runners (SNIPER) Act today. The legislation aims to mandate the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary to provide timely, impartial, and transparent determinations regarding a presidential candidate's eligibility for new or augmented United States Secret Service (USSS) protection.
Currently, the DHS Secretary, in consultation with a Congressional advisory committee, has sole discretion to authorize USSS protection for presidential candidates. This bill follows an attempted assassination of Former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, raising concerns about the allocation of USSS resources to Trump's campaign.
"In today's highly divisive political climate, the DHS Secretary owes all presidential candidates fair, apolitical, timely, and transparent consideration of USSS protection," stated Congressman Pfluger. "Our country was millimeters away from a presidential assassination. We must provide adequate security for all presidential candidates—no matter their party affiliation."
The bill comes in response to actions by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas who declined three requests from Robert F. Kennedy for USSS protection as recently as December 2023. Secretary Mayorkas provided no justification for these denials and ignored requests for months despite Kennedy facing numerous credible threats, including an incident involving an armed man impersonating a U.S. Marshal at a campaign event.
Historical exceptions where U.S. Secret Service protections were extended beyond front runners include Ben Carson and Bernie Sanders in 2016; Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich in 2012; and Pat Robertson and Jesse Jackson in 1988.
The full text of the bill can be accessed here.