House unanimously approves bill increasing Secret Service protection levels for Trump following two assassination attempts

The House of Representatives on Friday unanimously approved a bill that would enhance the level of Secret Service protection for former President Donald Trump following two assassination attempts on the Republican candidate 64 days apart.

By a vote of 405 to 0, lawmakers ordered the Secret Service to apply uniform standards of protection “to determine the number of agents necessary to protect presidents, vice presidents, and major presidential and vice presidential candidates.”

The bill was voted on under suspension of House rules, meaning it needed two-thirds approval to pass.

The legislation also requires the Secret Service to issue a report on the effectiveness of its protection of presidents, vice presidents, former presidents, and major presidential and vice presidential candidates, who are designated as “principal” protectees by the secretary of Homeland Security and congressional leaders.

Representatives Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) introduced The bill the day after Trump's first brush with death, when he was shot in the ear by would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.

The issue was put to a vote this week, five days after Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, set up a sniper's nest on the sixth hole of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Ousted Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle admitted the Pennsylvania attempt was the agency’s “most significant operational failure” in decades, but her successor took no responsibility for the second botched attempt.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe later told Trump, 78, that a major increase in security resources and coordination was needed if he wanted to continue golfing.

At a news conference Monday, Rowe told reporters that Routh “had no line of sight to the former president” and “fled the scene” after being shot by a Secret Service agent who was on advance patrol in the field.

“He did not fire any shots or fire at our agents. Upon reports of gunfire, the former President’s personal protective team immediately evacuated the President to a safe location,” Rowe explained. “The Secret Service’s protective methodologies were effective.”

Republicans and Democrats in Congress also called for heightened safety protocols following Sunday’s near-tragedy, though it’s unclear whether that could be achieved through more funding alone or simply through executive action by President Biden.

But former federal law enforcement officials told The Post earlier this week that more funding was not needed.

“The resources devoted to his protection must be proportional to the threats,” said former Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan, noting that in addition to two immediate assassination attempts, Trump had also faced a foiled assassination plot by a suspected Iranian agent.

“Trump is perhaps the most threatened person in the world, with threats from both domestic and foreign adversaries, including an Iranian plot to avenge the death of Iranian General (Qassem) Soleimani during the Trump presidency,” added former acting deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security Lora Ries. “He should be protected at the highest level based on that threat.”

The Senate Homeland Security Committee and a House select task force are investigating the assassination attempts, with the former expected to issue a report on the first attempt in the coming days.

Senate committee members voted earlier this week to release all documents related to the shooting at the Butler Farm Show grounds after Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) accused the Department of Homeland Security of ““hindering” their investigation.