By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. senators on Tuesday demanded tighter security in the wake of last weekend’s assassination of a Minnesota state legislator and threats against members of Congress, in what one lawmaker called a “spreading virus” of political violence.
Law enforcement officials responsible for securing the U.S. Capitol complex and its 535 members of Congress briefed Republican and Democratic senators for over an hour in a closed session, according to senators who attended. They said the review covered steps already undertaken and those being considered to enhance safety.
“We need more protection. We need more money” for law enforcement, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters afterward.
On Saturday, a gunman shot and killed Minnesota state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband in their home. Earlier, the gunman had shot state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, severely wounding them.
Senators were tight-lipped as they emerged from Tuesday’s briefing.
“I think it’s important for members’ safety that we don’t talk a lot about what is being done to keep us safe — in order to keep us safe,” Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota told reporters.
Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma would only say, “There’s a lot of discussion about a lot of things but we didn’t discuss specific funding” for added security.
Members of the federal judiciary also have requested more security funding, noting increasing threats against judges.
For several years, members of Congress have noted escalating threats to them and their staffs. The U.S. Capitol Police in May said it had seen 9,400 threats against members of Congress last year, more than double the rate of a decade earlier.
Among attacks on lawmakers or their families in recent years was the 2022 intrusion into then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home. Her husband, Paul, was severely wounded by a man wielding a hammer. A 2011 shooting in Arizona left then-Representative Gabby Giffords severely wounded and six people killed during a constituent meeting she was holding. A 2017 shooting left Republican Representative Steve Scalise badly injured at a baseball practice in northern Virginia.
President Donald Trump was also the target of two assassination attempts last year, including one in which he was wounded.
In response to the escalating violence, federal spending for the USCP rose to $833 million this year, nearly double the $464 million in 2020.
“Political violence is a scourge that is spreading like a virus and it needs to be countered more aggressively,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told reporters.
Blumenthal complained that threats “very often are discounted as a prank or a joke” and need to be investigated “in real time.”
Several lawmakers said officials have not settled on the amount of additional funding USCP might need.
Blumenthal said local and state police should be alerted to senators’ schedules “where they may be in jeopardy and also when threats are received.”
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; editing by Scott Malone and David Gregorio)
