Minnesota Attacks Spur Congress to Seek Security, Answers (2)

US lawmakers are seeking answers, boosted allowances, and bolstered security following the deadly attacks on Minnesota state lawmakers over the weekend.

Senators are set to receive a security briefing Tuesday from US Capitol Police and the Sergeant at Arms after Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) requested it. House members are also expected to receive a briefing. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pressing for information about the possibility of copycat attacks and increased US Capitol Police security.

“We have to reevaluate how we are protecting members of Congress and staffs in the face of rising threats,” Schumer said Sunday. “But we also have to look at protecting all American people as that happens. We must also get to the bottom of why this happens.”

Lawmakers have faced rising threats and violence for years, attributed to heated political rhetoric, online radicalization, and relatively minimal security for most members. Then-Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) was shot at an event in her district in 2011, House Republicans were targeted in a mass shooting at a baseball practice in 2017 where then House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), now majority leader, was shot and members on both sides of the aisle were in jeopardy during the 2021 attack on the Capitol.

“We are out there every day exposed,” Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) said in an interview Monday. “What’s sad is that the Minnesota stuff was not out there exposed. It was somebody actually out there coming to their door, which is beyond outrageous.”

A gunman killed Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband at their home Saturday; state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were wounded in a shooting linked to the same suspect. Minnesota’s bipartisan delegation of House lawmakers and senators condemned the “politically-motivated violence” in a joint statement after the attack.

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A makeshift memorial for Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband Mark Hortman is seen at the Minnesota State Capitol building on June 16, 2025.

Photographer: Steven Garcia/Getty Images.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday asking to “substantially increase the Member Representational Allowance,” which members can use for security costs.

Jeffries on Sunday said he expects the four corners of leadership across Congress to have a conversation in light of the shootings. He also said he’d meet with the Sergeant at Arms and the US Capitol Police to talk with House Democrats about next steps.

Schumer said he asked for increased security for Minnesota Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith after the incident, which he also did for Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) following a confrontation with federal officers in Los Angeles last week as he tried to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Schumer called the shootings more than a regional threat and instead “part of a troubling pattern.”

Capitol Police, which is responsible for protecting federal lawmakers, on Monday evening said “we have been working around the clock with our Congressional, federal, state and local partners to ensure that the Members of Congress impacted by this terrible event have a strong security plan.”

Authorities found the names of more than 45 elected officials while searching the car of Vance Boelter, the alleged shooter who now faces murder charges.

Lawmakers are taking precautions after finding out their names were on the list. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) postponed a scheduled town hall after she found out her name was on the list connected to the shooting.

“Out of an abundance of caution and to not divert additional law enforcement resources away from protecting the broader public at this time, this is the responsible choice,” Scholten said in a statement on Monday.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) was also on the list, her communications director Eli Rosen said Monday. Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) said he was on the list. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) also said his name was in the suspect’s notebooks, but his “schedule remains unchanged.”

Rising Threats

Capitol Police’s threat assessment cases increased for the second consecutive year in 2024, with 9,474 threats and concerning statements against lawmakers, their staffs, and families. That’s more than double the number of threats in 2017.

Former US Secret Service agent Richard Staropoli said the gap is wide between presidential security, which the service provides, and congressional security, which comes from Capitol Police and local law enforcement.

“They do a good job but it’s no where near the level of presidential security,” he said.

The Department of Homeland Security has also tracked escalated domestic violent extremism threats against government officials in recent years. DHS staff, who are helping to investigate the Minnesota shootings, briefed congressional staff on the attacks and related threats over the weekend, according to Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.).

“The closely divided nature of our political system means that potential assassins may feel empowered by the idea that they could make a difference by killing our elected leaders,” said Atlantic Council senior fellow Tom Warrick, a former DHS counterterrorism official.

He traced the rise in violent threats against government officials to the election of President Barack Obama but said budget-conscious leaders in both the executive branch and Congress failed to acknowledge “that there had been a sea change in the threat.”

Years later, lawmakers remain on edge. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) suggested a “secret session” for lawmakers to address security concerns. Correa recalled an unsettling incident following the 2021 attack on the Capitol when he was confronted by a group of men at Dulles International Airport, as well as more recent Israel-Gaza protests outside his home. He noted he’s had a concealed weapon permit and has two German Shepherds, McClusky and Luna, at this home.

“People are always taking pot shots at us,” Correa said.