The shootings of two state lawmakers in Minnesota brought a long-standing challenge into grim focus: Protecting members of Congress who face growing threats, but whose jobs require accessibility to the public.
The question has become even more urgent in an increasingly volatile political environment.
Senators met Tuesday in a bipartisan, closed-door meeting to raise concerns about safety and left with hopes of providing more funding for protection.
“I hope this will bring people together so we do something more about security, bring down the rhetoric,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who had dinner with Melissa Hortman, the former speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, the night before Hortman was killed.
But it won’t be easy.
Years of violence directed against politicians repeatedly raised questions about how to protect them and their families. Then-Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) was shot in her district in 2011. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) was shot while practicing for the congressional baseball game in 2017. Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked in their home in 2022. President Donald Trump was targeted twice last year, once coming within inches of being killed.
The Jan. 6, 2021, riot showed how much political fury can spread.
Congress presents unique challenges. Its 535 members regularly disperse across the country. Covering them all with security would be costly, and could interfere with the hands-on interaction voters expect from the most accessible branch of the federal government.
“It’s very expensive to have members of Congress protected,” said Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.). When he’s at demonstrations or events, “I’m usually out there by myself. We don’t have security.”
Congress faces growing danger with 9,474 threats to lawmakers, their families and staff last year — more than double the count in 2017, according to the US Capitol Police.
“Just as public debate and accessibility of our elected representatives is important to our democracy, the safety of our elected representatives is also important to our democracy,” said Gowri Ramachandran, director of elections and security at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice.
A Brennan Center survey of state legislators across the country found that 20% reported being less likely to tackle hot-button issues due to safety concerns, she said. Others said they were less likely to seek higher office or hold public events.
Some lawmakers are calling for immediate steps to ramp up security, including more funding for protection and investigations as well as an emphasis on online threats.
“There needs to be a delineation of free speech versus threatening speech that could lead frustrated individuals to carry out some of the threats that they make on social media,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said.
Those public platforms are likely one reason the number of threats has risen, said Luke Baumgartner, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism.
“There’s a lot more avenues for people to make these sorts of threats, and the inherent ability to reach a broader audience,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said senators on both sides agreed during the meeting that more money should be spent to protect lawmakers, staff, and the Capitol.
The Capitol Police asked Congress for a $967.8 million budget in fiscal 2026, a roughly 22% increase that the force tied to increased security requests by lawmakers.
The challenge is now set to land on the lap of incoming Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan, who’s expected to be sworn in later this month.
Some lawmakers said their own colleagues can make the situation worse. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Tuesday took down social media posts mocking the weekend attack, after days of complaints from Democrats.
“The dangerous environment isn’t spontaneous,” Schumer said. “It’s being stoked, often deliberately, by reckless rhetoric coming from the most powerful voices in the country.”
