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Updated October 16, 2020
Protection of Federal Government Officials
Due to attempted attacks on current and former government
officials (and others) and increased political tension across
the nation, there may be congressional interest in protective
details for government officials. An example of such
attacks are the October 2018 attempted bombings on a
number of current and former officials. Congress may also
be interested due to media reports of costs or budgetary
requests associated with funding security details for the
Secretaries of some departments or agencies, including the
Department of Education, the Department of Labor, and the
Environmental Protection Agency. 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. In total, 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.
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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;](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govdcbo0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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