Democratic California Rep. Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday provided a stipulation on whether she would endorse more funding for the Secret Service after the two recent assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump, but she was quick to demand additional money for the Capitol after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
Pelosi wrote to her colleagues on Feb. 2, 2021, that “there is a need for an emergency supplemental funding bill to meet institutional security needs” due to “serious and ongoing security threats facing Members and the Congress.” However, in an interview with Semafor’s Kadia Goba, the former House Speaker indicated she is uncertain about the “need” for extra funding for former President Donald Trump’s Secret Service protection.
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“Well, I think we should if that’s what they — they have to show — you know, I’m an appropriator, so we always [seek] justification. What is your mission? That’s the first thing. What is the mission? What are the needs?” Pelosi said. “And if those needs are not being met — I certainly don’t think, as is what’s happening now, that we could go for any long period of time where they’re saying we’re taking Secret Service away from Joe Biden and giving it to Donald Trump because Joe Biden is not doing as much campaigning as Donald Trump.”
“No, what is the mission? And if they need more money, again, as an appropriator, we want to see the mission, the need and the oversight of how that money is spent,” she added. “But we certainly have to have our presidents and our candidates for presidents protected.”
The first assassination attempt against Trump took place on July 13 during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a shooter grazed the former president’s ear. The second was on Sunday, where a suspect allegedly lurked with a rifle by Trump International Golf Club while the former president was playing a round of golf there.
The latest attempt prompted the Secret Service to request an increase in its annual $3 billion budget from Congress.
Goba noted Pelosi “oversaw the $2 billion that was allocated to strengthening or protecting the Capitol.” The House in May 2021 passed a nearly $2 billion bill that allocated over $950 million to enhance Capitol security and protect members of Congress, according to NPR.
“I think that we saw very clearly that if a president of the United States wants to encourage an insurrection on the Capitol of the United States, then we’ll need to protect it further,” Pelosi responded, later adding, “people were injured, over 100 Capitol Police injured, attacked by these people. They were coming after me to put a bullet in my foul word head and they had a noose for the vice president, and the president wouldn’t send the National Guard.”
Pelosi’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Featured Image Credit: United States Congress, Office of Nancy Pelosi
United States Congress, Office of Nancy Pelosi_
