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1 1 (July 28, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbbm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 01;0i E.$~ & Updated July 28, 2020 Presidential Candidate and Nominating Convention Security In 1968, Congress authorized U.S. Secret Service (USSS) protection of presidential candidates following the assassination of Democratic Party presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy. At that time, a congressional advisory committee (82 Stat. 170) was established to make recommendations to the Secretary of the Treasury on which candidates should be protected. Threats against Presidents and presidential candidates have a long history in the United States. Targeted presidential candidates include Theodore Roosevelt, Robert F. Kennedy, George C. Wallace, and Edward Kennedy. Four Presidents have been assassinated: * Abraham Lincoln; * James A. Garfield; * William McKinley; and * John F. Kennedy (with USSS protection). The USSS was officially assigned to protect Presidents in 1906. Assassination attempts (identified by the USSS and media reports) on Presidents with USSS protection include: * Harry S. Truman; * Richard Nixon; * Gerald R. Ford; * Ronald Reagan; * William J. Clinton; * George W. Bush; * Barack Obama; and * Donald Trump. The USSS was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. The Secretary of Homeland Security now has the responsibility of determining which presidential candidates are protected, following the recommendations of the advisory committee. The committee includes the Speaker and minority leader of the House, the Senate majority and minority leaders, and one additional member selected by the committee. There are two categories of candidates who receive USSS protection: (1) candidate protectees, who receive protection prior to receiving their political party's nomination; and (2) nominee protectees, who receive protection following their party's nomination. The USSS is statutorily required to protect major presidential and vice presidential candidates within 120 days of the general presidential elections, as well as their spouses (18 U.S.C. Section §3056(a)).This In Focus discusses protection of presidential candidates both before and after the party nominating conventions and provides an overview of funding for security operations at the nominating conventions. Threats to presidential candidates, presidents-elect, and other USSS protectees typically reflect general threats to the President. For example, fears of kidnapping and assassination threats towards Abraham Lincoln began with his journey to Washington, DC, for the 1861 inauguration. The assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy later spotlighted threats to those campaigning for the presidency. The USSS does not provide information on any threats to protectees or investigations related to threats made against protectees. The USSS reported that the expenditures for presidential campaign security in FY2016 was $145 million, including both candidate and nominee protection. This amount is in addition to $100 million Congress appropriated for the 2016 nominating conventions ($50 million each). For the 2020 nominating conventions, Congress also has appropriated $100 million for security (P.L. 116-93). Presidential candidate security generally includes the detail of USSS special agents to protect the candidate and the locations to which the candidate travels. Protection involves related security plans and analysis of possible and actual threats. According to the USSS, protection of candidates occurs 24 hours a day until the protection is deemed unnecessary, the candidate ends his or her campaign or does not become the nominee, or the nominee does not become the President-elect. Table 1 lists the candidates and nominees who received USSS protection between 2000 and 2020. Table I. Candidate and Nominee Protection 2000-2020 Election Year Nominees Candidates 2000 George W. Bush Bill Bradley Al Gore 2004 John Kerry John Edwards 2008 Barack Obama Hillary Clinton John McCain 2012 Mitt Romney Herman Cain Rick Santorum Newt Gingrich 2016 Donald Trump Benjamin Carson Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders 2020 NA Joseph Biden Source: USSS correspondence with CRS on May 7, 2020. Note: Incumbent Presidents and Vice Presidents receive USSS protection and are not listed in the table. p\w gnom ggmm mppm qq\ a , q 'S I 11LINUALiN,

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