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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced that the House of Representatives is considering “all the options” to enhance security for its members after the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.
Following Kirk’s murder by suspected shooter 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, lawmakers have been shifting events indoors and expressing concerns about their safety. Johnson addressed member security during his appearances on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream and CBS News’s Face the Nation, noting he has been in discussions with various representatives this week to ease their anxieties.
“We will ensure that everyone has a level of security that’s necessary, and that resources will be available for both residential and personal security. We’re evaluating all the options for that,” Johnson stated on Face the Nation.
CONGRESS ASSESSES SECURITY PROTOCOLS FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION
On Thursday, Johnson revealed that the House is reviewing member security protocols, a process that began after the shooting of two Democratic Minnesota state representatives in June. He acknowledged on Sunday that there is significant “angst” among lawmakers and urged Democrats to “reduce the rhetoric.”
“Calling people Nazis and fascists is not helpful,” Johnson remarked. “There are some deranged individuals in society, and when they hear leaders using that kind of language, it often incites them to act. We must acknowledge this reality and respond appropriately.”
According to Johnson, U.S. Capitol Police have logged nearly 14,000 “serious assessments of threatening and concerning behavior” directed at members of Congress so far in 2025, compared to just over 9,000 throughout all of 2024.
“Many of my colleagues from both parties are stepping up to address this issue,” Johnson commented on the need to tackle divisive political rhetoric. “I believe this could be a pivotal moment, frankly, to use Charlie’s term, for the country, and I hope that’s true.”
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Numerous congressional colleagues have echoed calls for the public to lower the political temperature. On Sunday, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) advocated for national unity following Kirk’s assassination.
“My staffers have heard me say a thousand times, ‘When there’s a fire, you pour water on it, not gasoline.’ That should be a basic principle,” Lankford stated on CNN’s State of the Union.
