Democratic Leaders Call for Increased Security Funding After Minnesota Shootings

Top Democratic leaders in Congress are calling for increased security funding for lawmakers following recent shootings that killed former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.

In a letter sent June 16 to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and House Administration Committee Ranking Member Joe Morelle (D-N.Y) urged immediate action to strengthen member safety. They pointed to the attack as part of a growing trend of threats and violence against elected officials.

“These shootings were not isolated incidents,” the lawmakers wrote. “Credible threats and acts of political violence have increased significantly over the last decade. Threats against Members of Congress have grown by nearly 1,000 percent since 2016.”

This comes on top of a number of other criminal activities targeting politicians. In April, an arsonist set fire to the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, while the Republican Party office in New Mexico was torched in March. In 2024, gunfire struck a Democratic National Committee office in Arizona. And most notably, there were two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump last year during his presidential campaign.

Past incidents also include a 2022 hammer attack on then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) husband, Paul, at their home, and a 2017 shooting at a congressional baseball practice that critically wounded Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.). In 2020, federal authorities also foiled a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).

The letter called on Johnson to direct the House Sergeant at Arms to take immediate steps to enhance member protection and to significantly increase the Member Representational Allowance (MRA) to support security measures in district offices. “That responsibility starts with you,” Jeffries and Morelle wrote.

Johnson’s office said he held a call with members on June 14 to discuss security concerns following the shootings. In a public statement posted to X that morning, Johnson wrote: “Such horrific political violence has no place in our society, and every leader must unequivocally condemn it. Our prayers are with the Hortman and Hoffman families as well as the people of Minnesota during this tragic time.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also called for increased protections during a press conference on June 17, describing the threat environment as “gross” and “disgusting.”

“These attacks are not just attacks on individuals, but on democracy, on our way of life, on what we believe in,” he said, adding, “and they’re an attempt to intimidate people not to do their jobs, not to run for office.”

Schumer said there was bipartisan agreement about increased funding in a security briefing at the Capitol on Tuesday morning.

“We must take immediate steps to ensure the safety of members, and that includes increased funding for the Capitol Police.”

Minnesota authorities say they captured the shooting suspect on June 16. Vance Boelter is accused of the slaying of the Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, and of the attack on the state senator and his wife.

Boelter allegedly wore a mask and posed as a police officer before he shot and killed Hortman and her husband at their home on June 14, officials said.

Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were injured in a separate shooting the same day. Officials said Boelter acted alone and was in possession of a notebook that included the names of other lawmakers.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the killings a politically motivated assassination and urged Americans to reject violence as a political tool.

“Violence cannot be the norm,” he said.

“While we differ in many areas related to policy and our vision for America’s future, Member safety must be an area of common ground,” Jeffries and Morelle wrote. “We must act to protect each other and preserve this great American institution.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) did not respond to an Epoch Times request for comment on Schumer’s call before publication.

On the day of the shooting, Thune wrote, “Horrified at the events unfolding in Minnesota. Kimberley and I are praying for the loved ones of the state lawmaker and her husband, who were assassinated, and the state senator and his wife, who were also injured in this assassination attempt. Political violence has no place in our nation.”

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.