Rep. Andy Biggs wants to streamline the Secret Service to reemphasize

Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs introduced legislation Wednesday, Dec. 4, that would remove certain powers from the United States Secret Service, after Republican allegations the agency is spread too thin and failed security procedures led to the July attempted assassination of President-elect Donald Trump.

Reps. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and Cory Mills, R-Fla., co-sponsored the bill, which would “transfer non-protective responsibilities” from the Secret Service to the FBI.

Biggs, R-Ariz., and other Republicans wanted to pull investigating financial crimes from the authority of the agency responsible for protecting the nation’s elected officials.

“July 13, 2024, was a wake-up call to the failures of the Secret Service,” Biggs said in a written statement, referencing the attempted assassination attempt on Trump.

Biggs cited the Department of Homeland Security’s October review of the attempt, which found the Secret Service failed in its mission to protect Trump, and that the agency required “fundamental reform” to prevent a similar future incident.

The report was written by a panel of security experts that included former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, who served as Homeland Security secretary under President Barack Obama.

“In no world should an agency with a budget of $3+ billion and 3,200 specialized agents fail to protect the life of one of the most influential figures in the world,” Biggs said in a written statement. “The failures of July 13 illustrate the necessity to strip non-protective responsibilities from the Secret Service to ensure it is focused on the execution of its primary duty.”

Crane said, “The Secret Service should have a singular focus on protection. Many failures have been exposed over the last six months and I’m proud to join Rep. Biggs in introducing legislation that seeks to fix one of them.”

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who Trump nominated for U.S. attorney general before Gaetz withdrew his name eight days later, joined in on social media to advocate for the bill.

“Very sound legislation… Good Work Biggs & Crane!” wrote Gaetz on the social-media platform X.

The Republicans wanted to “fix” the Secret Service by essentially cutting the agency’s list of responsibilities, eliminating what the Homeland Security report cited as a culture at the Secret Service of “do more with less.”

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Biggs wants to make reality the October report’s recommendation that the Secret Service reconsider law enforcement aspects of their mission, including financial crimes.

The U.S. Secret Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Reps. Andy Biggs and Eli Crane want to take power from Secret Service

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