Not everyone on the Left wishes the worst for Trump. And that’s upsetting plenty in D.C.
And now a House Democrat handed Trump an unexpected victory that is raising eyebrows.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from New York, has introduced two new bills that aim to overhaul the Secret Service’s role following the agency’s recent failure during an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
This incident, which resulted in the tragic death of rally-goer Corey Comperatore, has sparked intense scrutiny over the Secret Service’s ability to protect high-profile political figures.
Torres’ proposed legislation seeks to strip the Secret Service of its financial crime investigation duties, transferring those responsibilities back to the Treasury Department.
Additionally, it would mandate that the Secret Service establish a minimum 500-yard security perimeter at public events — a direct response to the lapses during Trump’s Pennsylvania rally.
Notably, Torres’ bills have yet to gain any co-sponsors, highlighting a lack of broad support for his proposals.
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi declined to comment on the pending legislation, and The Washington Times has reached out to the Treasury Department for their input.
Torres’ “Focus on Protection Act” aims to refocus the Secret Service exclusively on protecting the President, Vice President, their families, visiting heads of state, and presidential candidates.
“It seems to me that it should be exclusively focused on presidential protection, and we need legislation that moves financial law enforcement from the Secret Service to the Treasury Department—precisely where it belongs,” Torres stated.
He further emphasized, “We should ask ourselves a simple question: do you want the Director of the Secret Service thinking about the protection of a president 100% of the time, or only 50% of the time? I prefer 100% of the time.”
Under this bill, the Treasury Department would assume the responsibilities of investigating counterfeiting, financial fraud, and cybercrime, along with absorbing the personnel and resources currently dedicated to these tasks by the Secret Service.
Torres argues that the Treasury Department is better equipped for these duties, given its expertise and resources, and contends that this shift would allow the Secret Service to focus entirely on its core mission of protection.
While this move is clearly a response to the assassination attempt on Trump, it also revives a long-standing debate about the Secret Service’s bureaucratic placement. For over 140 years, the agency operated under the Treasury Department, with its primary focus on financial crimes.
It wasn’t until 1901 that presidential protection became a part of its mission, and the agency remained under the Treasury’s umbrella until it was moved to the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 after the 9/11 attacks.
In addition to the “Focus on Protection Act,” Torres introduced the “AR-15 Perimeter Security Enhancement Act.” This bill would require the Secret Service to establish a security perimeter of at least 500 yards at public events, securing all elevated positions within the firing range of firearms commonly used in assassination attempts, such as AR-15s.
The need for such measures became glaringly evident when the Secret Service failed to secure buildings adjacent to the Butler fairgrounds during Trump’s rally, allowing the shooter to take a rooftop position and fire eight rounds at the former president.
Trump narrowly escaped, with a bullet only grazing his ear — a close call that experts say could have been deadly.
Torres criticized the Secret Service for its “two conspicuous failures” in not establishing a perimeter that matched the firing range of an AR-15 and failing to secure elevated positions. However, Secret Service perimeters are tailored to specific sites and landscapes, as Guglielmi noted.
Mark Oliva, spokesperson for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, pointed out that while expanding the security perimeter might limit the effectiveness of certain rifles, the failure in Pennsylvania involved more than just distance.
“I don’t think that expanding the [security] bubble is addressing the failures of the Secret Service,” Oliva said.
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