A top congressional security official on Tuesday told senators that they had increased protections around lawmakers following the assassination of a legislator in Minnesota, as members of both parties pressed for more funding to keep them safe on Capitol Hill and in their districts and states.
Tensions were high at the Capitol as lawmakers continued to grapple with the killing of one state lawmaker in Minnesota and her husband and the wounding of another and his wife. The shootings intensified questions simmering for years about how to protect members of Congress and their families amid increasing threats of political violence.
“The violence and threats against elected officials, including people in the Senate, has drastically increased,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said after a briefing by Jennifer A. Hemingway, the Senate sergeant-at-arms. “That means we need more protection. We need more money.”
Congress determines how much to spend on its own security as part of the annual appropriations process, though the president must sign funding bills.
Behind closed doors, Ms. Hemingway briefed senators on steps that had been taken to increase their security. And Mr. Schumer said senators in both parties pressed her about how to better protect members of Congress, including calling for more money to fund such safeguards.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Capitol Police said that officers had been working closely with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to “enhance security for members of Congress” since the Minnesota shootings. The spokesman declined to discuss details of those efforts, citing security concerns.
But on Monday, police cordoned off areas behind the Capitol that are normally open to the public. And there were large protective details around Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats of Minnesota. Ms. Smith’s name was on a list of targets that investigators found in the suspect’s abandoned car along with the names of the victims. Other members of Congress have said that their own names were on the list as well.
With the House out of session for the week, Democrats in that chamber were scheduled to hold a call on Tuesday afternoon to discuss security and safety. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader, sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday asking to increase the amount of money available to representatives for official expenses, including security.
Senators said Tuesday that there was bipartisan support for additional funding for the U.S. Capitol Police. Mr. Schumer said Senators Adam Schiff of California, a Democrat, and David McCormick of Pennsylvania, a Republican, had asked about increasing the money available to protect lawmakers.
The Capitol Police Department has requested nearly $1 billion in funding for next year. J. Thomas Manger, the former chief of the force, warned senators at a hearing in May about the urgent need for the money given the “increased threat climate.”
“That is a herculean task to operate in that environment when so many people are responding to the vitriol that they hear in the press, that they hear on social media, and get worked up enough that they consider committing a criminal act is somehow justified,” Mr. Manger, who retired last month, said in an interview on Tuesday.
The Capitol Police investigated 9,474 threats to lawmakers, their families and staff last year, an increase of nearly 1,500 compared to 2023 and close to the highest level on record.
Mr. Schumer took to the floor on Tuesday to blame Republicans for the increase in political threats and violence, arguing that the uptick is being “stoked” by “reckless rhetoric” from top political officials. He called out Senator Mike Lee of Utah, who posted politically charged messages on X mocking the Minnesota attack, and President Trump.
“When political opponents are treated like enemies, danger follows. And that’s what Donald Trump has done,” Mr. Schumer said.
Republicans pinned the blame on Democrats, saying their harsh criticism of Mr. Trump had fanned the flames.
“For every Mike Lee comment that you just pointed out, there’s 7,000 times when the Democrats have called Trump Hitler, a fascist and authoritarian,” said Senator Bernie Moreno, Republican of Ohio, who also faulted Mr. Schumer for “the vast majority of inflammatory rhetoric that comes from” Democrats.
“And we both have to stop it,” Mr. Moreno added.
Congress has steadily increased funding for police protection for lawmakers since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Mr. Manger, who took over leadership of the Capitol Police in the aftermath of the attack, said the money has been critical to carry out its “24/7, no-fail mission.”
The Trump administration is making sweeping cuts to funding across the federal government, but Mr. Manger said now was not the time to be cutting money for lawmakers’ safety.
Senators on the committee that funds the Capitol Police declined to comment Tuesday on whether Congress would grant the department’s full request for over $967 million.
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, warned on Monday that members of Congress would ignore the need for more funding at their own peril. Limited security resources “should not be the reason why an assassination of a member of Congress is successful.”
Robert Jimison contributed reporting.
Megan Mineiro is a Times congressional reporter and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for early-career journalists.
Michael Gold covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on immigration policy and congressional oversight.
The post Members of Congress Press for More Security After Minnesota Attacks appeared first on New York Times.
