Lawmakers call for more safety measures after Minnesota shooting
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers are clamoring for more security funding and around-the-clock safety measures after the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband has left Democrats and Republicans on edge.
State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their suburban Minneapolis home on June 14. The man accused of carrying out the crime, Vance Boelter, was reportedly targeting other lawmakers, including Reps. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, and Hillary Scholten, D-Michigan. The incident is the latest in a string of political violence aimed at public officials and their families, including a hammer-wielding assailant who broke into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's house and attacked her spouse, and fire set at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's home.
Back in Washington, lawmakers on the Hill are pressing for more detailed security briefings and calling on leadership to do more to protect their members.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New York Democrat Rep. Joe Morelle urged House Speaker Mike Johnson in a June 16 letter to increase lawmakers' office budgets to 'support additional safety and security measures.'
That allowance is meant to pay for costs incurred as part of a member's "official and representational duties," which may include travel, rent, printing or supplies. The amount each member receives varies.
The Democrats also called on Johnson to direct the House's chief law enforcement officer to 'take all necessary steps' to protect members across the country. "Too many other patriotic public servants have left Congress because they no longer felt safe carrying out their duty as elected officials," they wrote. "We must act to protect each other and preserve this great American institution."
The Minnesota shooting has led some lawmakers to change their daily schedules. Scholten, for example, canceled a June 16 town hall meeting in her western Michigan district 'out of an abundance of caution,' according to a statement.
Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee is planning to send to a letter later this week to a critical House panel responsible for authorizing lawmakers' security spending that says he and his colleagues are "publicly identifiable at all times" and need 'around-the-clock security services,' according to a draft obtained by USA TODAY.
Data from the U.S. Capitol Police shows that threats against members of Congress, their family and staff have significantly risen in the past few years, with 3,939 'concerning statements and direct threats' in 2017 to 9,474 in 2024.
On June 16, a 25-year-old man was arraigned on federal charges after sending messages threatening sexual violence against Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Nebraska Republican Sen. Deb Fischer.
House Administration Committee Chairman Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisconsin, and Morelle, the committee's ranking member, noted the escalation of threats in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on June 17. They requested Bondi assign federal prosecutors across the country who would work on at least a part-time basis to investigate and prosecute threats against members of Congress.
'We are concerned that the current lack of prosecutorial capacity will allow threat behavior to persist unabated,' they wrote.
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawmakers' request.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lawmakers call for more security funding after Minnesota shooting
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