Former President Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday months after House Democrats proposed legislation to remove his Secret Service protection.
Democrat Bennie Thompson, the ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, introduced the Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable (DISGRACED) Former Protectees Act (HR 8081) on April 19. Democrat Reps. Yvette D. Clarke, Troy A. Carter Sr., Frederica Wilson, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Jasmine Crockett, Joyce Beatty, Barbara Lee, and Steve Cohen co-sponsored the bill.
“Former President Donald J. Trump’s unprecedented 91 felony charges in Federal and State courts across the country have created a new exigency that Congress must address to ensure Secret Service protection does not interfere with the criminal judicial process and the administration of justice,” Thompson wrote in a fact sheet regarding the act. “The DISGRACED Former Protectees Act would terminate Secret Service protection for individuals who otherwise qualify for it upon sentencing following conviction for a Federal or State felony.”
Thompson tweeted a response following the assassination attempt on Saturday evening, writing he was “glad the former President is safe” and “grateful for law enforcement’s fast response.” The U.S. Secret Service rushed Trump off of the stage immediately after shooting and killing the alleged shooter.
Thompson, however, had previously expressed intentions to terminate Trump’s Secret Service protection if a felony conviction resulted in a prison sentence. Thompson called Trump’s then-pending felony conviction a “regrettable” and “unthought-of scenario” and wanted to ensure he received no “special treatment” if imprisoned.
Thompson did not immediately respond to the Federalist’s request for comment regarding how he views his DISGRACE Act in light of Saturday’s assassination attempt against former President Trump.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary and is awaiting further action. Trump received 34 felony convictions following a lawfare trial in May. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 18 and could include prison time.
A “source familiar with Trump’s security detail” previously told The Federalist that Trump’s “detail has been asking for beefed up protection and resources for weeks, but has been rebuffed time and again by Biden’s DHS.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also repeatedly denied Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Secret Service protection.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas claimed security was “not warranted at this time” in his rejection of Kennedy’s request. Kennedy’s attorney, Aaron Siri, managing partner of national law group Siri and Glimstad, wrote a letter to Mayorkas on March 29 calling these “repeated denials” of protection and explanation from the DHS “politically motivated.”
“Your disregard for the safety of Mr. Kennedy and others in his environment is contemptible.” Siri wrote in the letter.