In the wake of the assassination Wednesday of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, some in Congress are again calling for increased security protection for lawmakers.
“There’s been a deluge of that,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., told CNN of calls for heightened security. “I mean, from the moment all this took place, and we’re looking at that. We have to take serious measures for serious times.”
The Daily Signal spoke to a number of congressmen Wednesday who commented on the need for stronger security, as well as possible tensions that might present with respect to openness to the public.
With Congress in the midst of the appropriations process, debates over the annual legislative affairs funding bill could produce louder calls for beefed-up Capitol security.
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told The Daily Signal that more spending might not be the solution to an epidemic of violence.
“My staff carry [firearms]. I have staff that carry. I carry myself, and so I don’t think that you necessarily have to spend more money to increase security,” Burlison said. “But I think it’s probably going to give a pause to doing any kind of large event without having something—like you know, especially an outdoor space. There may be a reason why the president chose not to do the inauguration outside.”
He speculated on the possibility that the presidential inauguration in January may have been held inside owing to fears of a drone attack.
It was rumored to me after the attacks in Russia, with the Ukraine drone attacks … and the fact that we had all those drone incursions in New Jersey. I mean, there’s not really a whole lot we appear to be able to do about this … .
I’m just saying the rumor was that what do we do at an inauguration event and then a thousand drones suddenly come flying in? How do you stop something like that?
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., asked about the security issue, praised coordination between congressmen’s home district sheriffs and Capitol police, as well as the ability for lawmakers to expense home security. However, he suggested that being a lawmaker comes with inherent dangers.
“The reality is, that doesn’t protect you from the kind of attack we saw on Charlie Kirk. There’s no way to stop somebody from shooting you from 200 yards away. There’s virtually no outdoor venue where you can be safe in that regard,” Massie said.
Nevertheless, he said, he would continue to conduct outdoor events.
The Daily Signal asked him if he thought there is an inevitable tension between lawmaker security and openness to the public.
”Well, there’s always that tension. It’s been there since the beginning of politics, but it’s not a reason to not face the public or not do events. We still have to operate like that. And there’s always a danger,” Massie told The Daily Signal. “There’s no way you can keep somebody from shooting you from 200 yards away. You can control things within a perimeter, but if you’re going to be outside, it’s virtually impossible to guarantee your safety.”
The Daily Signal asked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., the same question, to which she responded that Congress would have to be smart about whatever measures it puts in place.
“Those proposals need to be each assessed individually and on their own merits. I will say that I believe that largely the threat environment here on Capitol Hill, many of the issues of it, are not simply about resources, but it is about the fact that the security protocols and the ways that we think about it and conceive of it are for a bygone time,” she said, adding:
“They’re not designed for a stochastic era. They’re not designed for a digital threat environment era. And you can throw tons of resources, but if you are throwing tons of resources for a bygone time, we are still going to have a problem. So, it is not to wave any one proposal off, but it is to say that we need to be smart about any adaptations and changes.”
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., meanwhile, told The Daily Signal that Kirk’s assassination demands a national response to crime, and that increased security for congressmen is likely necessary.
“The next steps for Congress is, again, enforcing the laws. Having states enforce what’s on the books. Having states side with, strengthen our police departments, all across the country. And yeah, more security will probably be needed, because we’re all targets. But this is, again, this shouldn’t happen in America. America’s better than this.”