(The Lion) — The Trump administration is asking Congress to approve nearly $60 million in funding to boost security for the executive and judicial branches following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
The push for additional security funding comes only days after Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative commentator and ally of President Donald Trump, was assassinated during a campus event at Utah Valley University.
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was known for hosting open microphone-style debates with college students on politics, faith and culture.
The request for $58 million in additional funding, reported by NBC News, comes amid rising concerns about political violence and escalating fears among both Republicans and Democrats in high-profile positions.
Indeed, Kirk’s assassination follows a string of political attacks and threats in recent years – including an assassination attempt and subsequent murder plot on then-candidate Trump on the campaign trail last year; the killing of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her spouse; an assassination attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaugh; and an arson attack targeting Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home.
Threats against the judiciary also are on the rise, with more than 500 threats having been made against federal judges in the past 11 months, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. The number is up from last fiscal year – surpassing the entire previous year’s total despite having a month to go this year.
The security funding, which would be available through September 2027, was made “due to increased threats against public officials,” reported the New York Times. The request noted the “anticipated costs for the marshals to provide protective services for the Supreme Court of the United States.”
The White House request also noted Congress faces a chance of violent threats, the Times reported, urging congressional lawmakers to consider boosting the Capitol Police and other security efforts.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has described the suspect in Kirk’s shooting, 22-year-old Utah native Tyler Robinson, as coming from a conservative family but that his “ideology was very different than his family.” Robinson was radicalized in a short amount of time, Cox noted, and he lived with a transgender partner, who has been cooperating with the authorities.
The White House has expressed support for Kirk following the assassination, as Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff and as Vice President J.D. Vance flew Kirk’s casket to Arizona on Air Force Two.
“He started this really during what would normally be college,” Trump said of Kirk during a Fox News interview, noting it has “become a movement. I’ve never seen young people, or any group, go to one person like they did to Charlie.”
