In the wake of the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, concern is mounting among elected officials in Washington over how to ensure the safety of the more than 500 federal lawmakers and their families amid rising political hostility and limited security resources.

In the wake of the shootings, senators received a classified security briefing on Tuesday from Jennifer A. Hemingway, the Senate sergeant-at-arms. Afterward, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) described the session as “sobering,” telling reporters, “The threat to public officials and their families is very real and very widespread.”

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Most members of Congress do not receive round-the-clock protection, with full-time Capitol Police security details reserved for a small number of top leaders. Lawmakers can request additional protection, but it’s only granted if Capitol Police assess a credible threat. To bolster safety, federal officials have authorized members to use office funds for home security systems and campaign money to hire private security.

“The violence and threats against elected officials, including people in the Senate, have drastically increased,“ Schumer said Tuesday.  “That means we need more protection. We need more money.”

Schumer said there was bipartisan support for increasing funding for the Capitol Police and said Sens. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) asked about increasing the money available to protect lawmakers. 

Data from the Capitol Police revealed a sharp increase in threats targeting members of Congress, their families, and staff, rising from 3,939 “concerning statements and direct threats” in 2017 to 9,474 in 2024.

In recent years, political violence has surged, fueling demands for stronger security protections for public officials. Advocates of enhanced measures point to assassination attempts against President Donald Trump as key examples.

Beyond these high-profile attempts, other violent incidents have raised alarms: an arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-PA)home, the fatal shooting of two staff members at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., the arrest of an armed individual near Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s residence on attempted murder charges, and a 2022 shooting in Wisconsin where a gunman killed a retired judge while carrying a list of additional political targets, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

On Monday, a 25-year-old man appeared in court facing federal charges for sending messages that threatened sexual violence against Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Deb Fischer (R-NE). 

The Capitol Police have ramped up security for members of Congress affected by the Minnesota shootings, providing around-the-clock protection to lawmakers whose names were reportedly found in writings linked to the alleged shooter. However, lawmakers believe more must be done. 

“There’s a lot being done that is not being reported and won’t be reported, but there’s more that has to be done,” Durbin said.

Before the weekend’s deadly shootings and a spike in threats against members of Congress, the Capitol Police had already requested $967.8 million for fiscal 2026, a 22% increase from their fiscal 2024 funding. Now, with lawmakers demanding even greater resources, the agency’s budget could surpass a billion dollars for the first time in the near future. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) called on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to raise lawmakers’ office budgets to help “support enhanced safety and security measures” in a letter sent on Monday.

The House Democrats also urged Johnson to instruct the House’s chief law enforcement officer to “take all necessary steps” to ensure the safety of members nationwide. In their letter, they emphasized, “Too many other patriotic public servants have left Congress because they no longer felt safe carrying out their duty as elected officials.” They added, “We must act to protect each other and preserve this great American institution.”

Schumer and other Democrats argued that “reckless rhetoric” from GOP figures has helped create a volatile and dangerous environment.

They specifically cited a series of inflammatory posts from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) over the weekend regarding the Minnesota shooting. Facing growing backlash from his colleagues, Lee eventually deleted the posts, including one that said, “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way,” accompanied by an alleged photo of suspect Vance Boelter wearing the mask police say was used during the attack.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who has been in direct contact with the victims of the Minnesota shootings, spoke to Lee about the posts.

“I’m glad that he took this down,” Klobuchar told the Washington Examiner. “This wasn’t funny to anyone in my state, and he understood that.”

“I feel like a lot of the MAGA rhetoric, which is so threatening, or other kinds of fuel to the fire, is a clear and present danger,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) urged both parties to lower the political temperature, warning that extreme rhetoric, such as calling opponents fascists or threats to democracy, can incite violence.

MIKE LEE DELETES MINNESOTA SHOOTING POSTS FOLLOWING SENATE BACKLASH

“The President of the United States has been shot at twice in the last year … egged on by the most unbelievable rhetoric calling him a fascist, calling him a threat to democracy, calling for him to be taken out, so I think we can work together to turn down the temperature here,” Hawley said, speaking with reporters on Tuesday.

“We can disagree with each other without implying that the other person ought to have violence inflicted on them,” he added.

Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.