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House Democratic leadership is mulling over a bill that would provide security services to Supreme Court justices and their families one day after an armed man was arrested and charged with attempting to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Republican lawmakers vehemently urged House Democrats this week to take action on the bill, introduced by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chris Coons (D-DE), following the arrest of 26-year-old Nicholas Roske of Simi Valley, California, who was identified in a criminal complaint charging him with the attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice earlier that day.
House Democrats have said the legislation has not moved forward because they want to add funding for Supreme Court clerks and staff. Still, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, voiced concerns last month that the House has yet to act on the measure in the wake of “heightened” threat reports to the high court, according to a recent advisory from the Department of Homeland Security.
NICHOLAS JOHN ROSKE ARRESTED OUTSIDE BRETT KAVANAUGH’S HOME WITH CHILLING ARSENAL OF WEAPONS
“This bill is not about the justices,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said during a Thursday press conference. “This issue is not about the justices. It’s about staff and the rest. The justices are protected. You even saw the attorney general even double down on that.”
Pelosi was pressed by a reporter regarding the attempt on Kavanaugh’s life Wednesday, though she pointed to law enforcement’s prompt arrest in Montgomery County, Maryland, before Roske could come close to the justice’s home. “He’s protected,” Pelosi said.
Pressed again on the bill as it relates to the threat against Kavanaugh, Pelosi said, “There will be a bill, but nobody is in danger over the weekend because of our not having the bill.”
The Democratic House speaker said lawmakers were working on a bill that “the Senate will be able to approve of … we want it to be able to pass the Senate.”
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) pressed Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on the House floor Thursday to put a vote date on the calendar for the legislation to move it on to President Joe Biden’s desk for signature.
“That’s a priority item that I hope we can get done very early next week,” said Hoyer, adding that he spoke with Cornyn on Wednesday evening about a way forward that the Senate and House could both agree on.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made an impassioned plea on Thursday to move the Supreme Court security legislation forward, arguing that “the only place it is not being cleared is on the Democrats, and it’s not moving and sitting on the desk for a month, and that is wrong.”
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) reflected similar concerns in response to House Democrats’ inaction on the legislation handed down from the Senate on May 9.
“It should not be a partisan issue. Shame on Nancy Pelosi for turning it into a partisan issue,” Stefanik said.
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The U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland announced Wednesday that Roske had been hit with federal charges of “attempted murder of a Supreme Court Justice.”
The Justice Department said Roske told police that “he was upset about the leak of a recent Supreme Court draft decision regarding the right to abortion as well as the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.” He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.
