New Bill Would Strip Donald Trump Of Secret Service Protection If He’s Convicted In Criminal Trials

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), the former chair of the disbanded January 6 committee, has proposed a new bill that would strip the Secret Service of protection from convicted felons.

Thompson introduced the Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable (DISGRACED) Former Protectees Act. The bill targets individuals convicted of felonies with a jail sentence of one year or more. With Republicans currently holding the majority, it is unlikely the bill will pass through the House.

In Thompson’s proposal, the representative named former President Donald Trump as someone who could lose Secret Service protection. Trump faces 91 felony charges across four state and federal cases, including his hush money trial. 

Thompson stated, “Unfortunately, current law doesn’t anticipate how Secret Service protection would impact the felony prison sentence of a protectee—even a former President.”

Since 1965, former presidents and their spouses have been granted lifetime protection unless they decline. With Trump’s security team, some speculated that the former President would serve jail time at home rather than in prison. Secret Service protection also extends to executive members and their families, meaning the bill would also apply to high-ranking officials.

Thompson’s team also wrote, “This bill would remove the potential for conflicting lines of authority within prisons and allow judges to weigh the sentencing of individuals without having to factor in the logistical concerns of convicts with Secret Service protection.”

On Friday, Trump faced a New York City court for his hush money trial, where a man set himself on fire outside the courthouse. The judge has warned Trump that he will be arrested if he disrupts the court or misses any days it is in session.