White House pushes for $58M security increase in wake of Kirk assassination
The White House is seeking additional security funds from Congress for the executive and judicial branches as it navigates the aftermath of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Fox News Digital has learned.
The White House has requested an additional $58 million in security funding for the executive and judicial branches from Congress, a spokesperson for the White House’s Office of Management and Budget confirmed Monday to Fox News Digital.
The additional security funds would be added to a continuing resolution, the spokesperson said. A temporary spending bill will need to pass by the end of the month to keep the government open or else the government could face a shutdown Sept. 30 when funds expire.
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Punchbowl News was the first to report the security funding request. Additional details on the funds were not immediately available.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Kirk, 31, was killed after he was shot in the neck during a stop on his American Comeback Tour Wednesday at Utah Valley University. The assassination comes roughly a year after two attempts to take President Donald Trump’s life.
In July 2024, 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on Trump from a rooftop during a campaign rally. One of the eight bullets shot sliced Trump's ear.
The gunman also shot and killed Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter, father and husband attending the rally, and injured two others.
Likewise, Ryan Routh was apprehended and charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024. Routh is currently on trial after being charged with attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, among other things.
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Nicholas John Roske, 29, pleaded guilty in April to attempting to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in June 2022, according to the Justice Department.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Secret Service is ushering in a series of changes in response to the assassination attempts against the president and already is operating at an incredibly heightened state as a result, according to former agents.
"The Secret Service now has to play at a level of enhanced security that they've never dreamed of before. I think (Secret Service Director Sean Curran) is doing a good job in leading that effort," Tim Miller, who served as a Secret Service agent during Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton’s administrations, told Fox News Digital Thursday. "But here's the bad news for the Secret Service: They don't have time. This threat is now. Can you imagine — they already shot our president once. Can you imagine if they're able to kill him?"
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Immediate changes to the agency following the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt included expanding the use of drones for surveillance purposes and introducing greater counter-drone technology to mitigate kinetic attacks, former Secret Service acting Director Ronald Rowe told lawmakers in December 2024.
The Secret Service extended its condolences to the Kirk family but declined to comment on any specific changes to Trump’s security detail following Kirk's death.
"The safety and security of our protectees is the U.S. Secret Service’s top priority," a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "President Trump receives the highest levels of U.S. Secret Service protection and the agency adjusts our protective posture as needed to mitigate evolving threats. Out of concern for operational security, we cannot discuss the means and methods used for our protective operations."