Democrats on Capitol Hill are advocating for enhanced personal security funded by taxpayers, amid rising concerns over safety.

Leading this initiative is New York Democratic Representative Joe Morell, who is urging Republicans to support hiring an armed security guard for each member of Congress, as well as appointing a ‘law enforcement coordinator,’ according to Semafor.

This proposal would necessitate additional financial resources beyond the $20,000 per member security allocation approved earlier this year.

Morell expressed his determination to continue advocating for this measure, emphasizing to Semafor the need to discuss the issue with Republican colleagues.

The call for increased security comes in response to a significant uptick in threats against lawmakers from both parties. This wave of threats has been underscored by the recent assassination of conservative political activist and prominent Trump supporter Charlie Kirk in September.

In light of a series of politically motivated threats and incidents, legislators are increasingly concerned for their safety, both in Washington, D.C., and in their respective home states.

South Carolina Congresswoman and gubernatorial candidate Nancy Mace announced on X last month that after receiving ‘1,300+ credible threats per year’, she now has a full-time security detail at [her] Charleston office.

Speaking with the Daily Mail in mid-September, House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain said that threats on her life and that of other members have nearly doubled from 9,000 in 2024 to 14,000 in 2025, ‘and it’s only September.’

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) smiles as she enters to a full auditorium as part of the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour on April 14, 2025 in Nampa, Idaho.

Members of the US Capitol Police, on April 3, 2021, pause to pay their respects at the US Capitol location where fellow officer, William Evans, was killed in an attack, in Washington, DC Evans was killed on April 2, after a vehicle driven by suspect Noah Green rammed through security and crashed into a barrier at the, forcing the Capitol into lockdown

U.S. Capitol Police prepare for a news conference with alleged victims of disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein outside the U.S. Capitol on September 03, 2025 in Washington, DC

 ‘Security is an issue. We need manpower and we need funds,’ McClain added at the time.

Morell also described the role of the law enforcement coordinator as someone who could ‘try to mitigate [threats] in advance and really do the prep work necessary,’ while the armed staff member would be ‘someone who’s probably a former law enforcement, former military, who meets all the requirements of being able to carry a gun.’ 

Additionally, the document states that lawmakers will be provided $5,000 a month for personal security measures, a sizable increase from just $150.

The cash for the security programs is coming from the chief law enforcement and protocol officer of the House, the House Sergeant at Arms (HSAA).

The $5,000 stipend is already in place but expires at the end of FY2025 and would need a vote to be renewed. The $20,000 residential program does not have to be voted on again and is a ‘lifetime’ amount, the source confirmed.

Yet, after the members returned to Washington in September, Texas Congressman Troy Nehls exclusively told the Daily Mail that the additional monies were not enough, and that members were still not hosting town halls due to personal safety concerns.

‘Even if I brought four sheriff’s detectives or deputies with me, you’re still gonna have those, those protesters out there. You just got to be careful today. You just don’t know there’s a lot of crazy whack jobs out there, a lot of crazy whack jobs out there, and you have to be careful,’ Nehls told the Daily Mail on September 3rd.

‘I have a newsletter that reaches 40,000 people every Friday, and I’ve explained to the people out there, said, my newsletter will keep you informed on what we’re doing, and until we can get some civility back into politics, you just got to be very, very careful,’ Nehls added at the time, one week before the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. 

The pilot program for member security approved in July included $20,000 for a residential security program for each member, up from $10,000, to allow them to install a comprehensive suite of security equipment at their residences, according to a document shared with the Daily Mail.

Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, posted earlier this summer about being targeted in an antisemitic attack while driving. The individual, who drove Miller off the road while waving a Palestinian flag, later turned himself into authorities.

‘The deranged hatred in this country has gotten out of control,’ Miller wrote on X in June around the time of the attack. ‘Today I was run off the road in Rocky River, and the life of me and my family was threatened by a person who proceeded to show a Palestinian flag before taking off.’

Miller later announced that he asked the Capitol Police to investigate.

The incident is just one of the thousands of threats that Capitol Police deal with annually, and members have asked congressional leadership to make a plan.

Democrat Congressman Jared Moskowitz was the target of a gunman arrested last year, who lived under ten miles away from his Florida home.

‘Someone’s gonna get killed here. It almost was me,’ Moskowitz told the Wall Street Journal.

The additional funds couldn’t be coming at a better time.

The campaign office of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was vandalized with red paint resembling blood over the summer as a disturbing video made its rounds on X of the congresswoman’s Bronx campaign headquarters being vandalized in red paint. A note was also attached to the front gate reading ‘AOC Funds Genocide in Gaza.’

The glass directly covering photograph of the congresswoman’s face was entirely obscured by red paint as well.

The unhinged action came days after AOC voted against an amendment proposed by MAGA Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to cut funding to Israel’s ‘golden dome’ air defense systems by $500 million.

Members of Congress and state lawmakers from both parties have been threatened this year at a disturbing rate.

Florida Republican Kat Cammack shared in June that her district office had to be evacuated due to death threats she received following a Wall Street Journal story which detailed her experiences with an ectopic pregnancy last year.

Cammack, 37, was pregnant at the time and welcomed her first child later this past summer.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the congresswoman spoke in June of ‘imminent death threats against me, my unborn child, my family and my staff’ based on her revealing her story about a ‘nonviable pregnancy with no heartbeat.’

The threats to Cammack came just over a week after a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband were assassinated at their home by a gunman.

Melissa Hortman, a Democratic former Speaker of the Minnesota House, and her husband were killed after the assailant pretended to be a cop at their front door.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was also the target of an arson attack in April when a man set fire to the governor’s residence.