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C o n gr e s s o n a R e e a c S e r i c
Updated January 8, 2021
Protection of Federal Government Officials
Overview
In the aftermath of the breach of the U.S. Capitol security
on January 6, 2021-while a joint session of Congress was
counting and certifying the 2020 presidential election
electoral votes-and in response to increased political
tension across the nation, there is renewed congressional
interest in protective details for government officials.
Attacks against political leaders and other public figures
have been an ongoing security issue in the United States.
Since the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) started protecting
Presidents in 1906, seven assaults or assassination attempts
have occurred, with one resulting in a death (President John
F. Kennedy). Prior to USSS protection, three sitting
Presidents had been assassinated (Abraham Lincoln, James
Garfield, and William McKinley). In addition, official
records and news accounts show that there have been at
least 20 attacks against Members of Congress since 1789.
For further details on violence against Members of
Congress, see CRS Report R41609, Violence Against
Members of Congress and Their Staff Selected Examples
and Congressional Responses.
According to a 1998 U.S. Marshals Service report, data on
assassinations and assassination attempts against federal
officials suggest that elected officials are more likely to be
targeted than those holding senior appointed positions. The
U.S. Marshals Service report quoted a 1970 report on
political violence (commissioned by President Lyndon
Johnson) indicating that
the more powerful and prestigious the office, the
greater the likelihood of assassination.... [T]here is
a much greater likelihood that the occupant of or
aspirant to an elected office will be the victim of an
assassination than will the occupant of an appointed
position, even though the position may be a
powerful one, such as Secretary of State, Justice of
the Supreme Court, or Attorney General.
In a 2000 report, the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) stated that it was only able to identify one instance
when a Cabinet Secretary was physically harmed as part of
an assassination attempt, which occurred when one of the
Lincoln assassination conspirators attacked then-Secretary
of State William Seward in his home in 1865. Even with
few attempted attacks against appointed officials, federal
law enforcement entities have been providing personal
protection details (PPDs) to select executive branch
officials since at least 1994. GAO reported that from
FY1997 through FY1999, security protection was provided
to officials holding 42 executive branch positions at 31
executive branch agencies. Personnel from 27 different
agencies protected the 42 officials: personnel from their
own agencies or departments protected 36 officials and 6
officials were protected by personnel from other agencies or
departments, such as the USSS and the U.S. Marshals
Service.
Since GAO's 2000 report, it appears there has been no
significant research on protecting executive branch
officials. Considering the increased federal government and
congressional interest in security of federal personnel and
facilities since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, there may be a
need for further research to inform analysis of related
issues.
Personal Protection Detail Authority
The USSS and the State Department are the only two
agencies that have specific statutory authority to protect
executive branch officials. Specifically, the USSS protects
the following individuals under 18 U.S.C. §3056(a):
* President, Vice President, President- and Vice
President-elect;
* immediate families of those listed above;
* former Presidents, their spouses, and their children
under the age of 16;
* former Vice Presidents, their spouses, and their children
under the age of 16, for six months after leaving office,
but the Department of Homeland Security Secretary can
extend this period due to threats;
* visiting heads of foreign states or governments;
* distinguished foreign visitors and official United States
representatives on special missions abroad; and
* major presidential and vice presidential candidates
within 120 days of the general elections, and their
spouses.
The State Department's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS)
special agents protect the following individuals under 22
U.S.C. §2709(3):
* heads of foreign states, official representatives of a
foreign government, and other distinguished U.S.
visitors, while in the United States;
* the Secretary of State, Deputy Secretary of State, and
official U.S. government representatives, in the United
States or abroad;
* members of the immediate family of persons described
above;
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