Washington — House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Tuesday a pilot program to raise the security allowance of members of the chamber until the end of September as lawmakers have faced increasing threats. It comes in the wake of the separate shootings of a congressional intern and two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses.
Under Johnson’s proposal, members of the House of Representatives will receive an additional $20,000 under the residential security allowance through the end of the fiscal year, or Sept. 30. Johnson also said the monitoring and maintenance allotment for the remainder of the fiscal year will be increased to $5,000 to be put toward personal security.
Johnson said that at the end of September, he would evaluate “all the data points, see how effective it was, how it was utilized, and then make decisions going forward.”
“We live in an enhanced threat environment,” Johnson told CBS News. “We mourn the death of this intern that Ron Estes had, that you know, has been in the news the last couple of days, just an unspeakable tragedy.”
Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, an intern of Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, was shot and killed in Washington, D.C., on June 30. Police said at the time that they did not believe Tarpinian-Jachym was the intended target of the shooting, but the shooting has rattled many on Capitol Hill.
The announcement also comes after Johnson and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries met last month in the wake of the shootings of Minnesota state lawmakers, Rep. Melissa Hortman and Sen. John Hoffman, and their spouses. Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their home in the early hours of June 14, while Hoffman and his wife were shot and wounded roughly 5 miles away at their home.
The FBI said the suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, went to the homes of two other Minnesota lawmakers. Boelter has been charged with two counts of murder, two counts of stalking and two weapons charges.
After the shootings, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also said he had asked Capitol Police to increase security for members of Congress. All members of Congress received a security briefing in the days following the shootings, and Schumer called it “more than a regional tragedy.”
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