White House requests $58 million in security funding from Congress following Kirk assassination
By Arlette Saenz, CNN
(CNN) — The White House has requested an additional $58 million in security funding for the executive and judicial branches following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, a Republican congressional aide said.
The funding request is being “actively processed” in the context of a stopgap funding bill, the aide said. Lawmakers are facing a looming end-of-month deadline to fund the government and stave off a shutdown, with House GOP leaders expected to move this week on a bill.
The request, first reported by Punchbowl News, comes amid heightened concerns in Washington about security for public officials, including among members of Congress, in the wake of the Kirk assassination.
Senate Republicans will be briefed on security issues by the Senate Sergeant at Arms office and US Capitol Police during their weekly conference lunch on Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter said. US Senate Sergeant at Arms Jennifer Hemingway and US Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan are expected to attend the GOP policy lunch after being invited by Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
In July, following the fatal shootings targeting state lawmakers in Minnesota, the House increased security funding and resources for lawmakers in their home districts as part of a new program. House Speaker Mike Johnson previously said that approximately 60 Democrats and 20 Republicans took advantage of the program, and he wants to examine what worked and what didn’t.
On Sunday, Johnson said he’s been working to reassure House members about their personal security and congressional leaders are looking at “all the options” to bolster it.
“I’ve been talking with a lot of them over the last few days about that and trying to calm the nerves to assure them that we will make certain that everyone has a level of security that’s necessary,” he said over the weekend on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
The speaker echoed calls from leaders from both parties on Capitol Hill urging lawmakers to “turn down the rhetoric.”
“There are some deranged people in society, and when they see leaders using that kind of language so often now, increasingly, it spurs them on to action,” he said, adding that he’s “heartened” to see “many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are stepping up and saying that.”
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CNN’s Ted Barrett, Manu Raju and Alison Main contributed to this report.
