The US Senate unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday that would expand US Secret Service protection for major presidential and vice-presidential nominees.

The bill passed the House of Representatives with a unanimous vote just days earlier.  It was introduced in late July by Senator Rick Scott (D-FL). Speaking about the bill on Tuesday, Scott highlighted the imperative of enhanced protection in light of two recent assassination attempts on former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump:

Over the course of just 65 days, two deranged individuals have tried to kill President Donald Trump, and one was able to shoot him in the head. It is unthinkable that this could happen in America today, and it demands the immediate action of Congress.

The first assassination attempt on Trump was in mid-July during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Several attendees were injured and one attendee, former firefighter Corey Comperatore, was killed. Following the attempt, President Joe Biden announced security measures taken by the FBI during its investigation while the Secret Service director at the time, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned.

The second assassination attempt on Trump occurred in mid-September, just over a week before the Senate passed the bill. Trump was in West Palm Beach, Florida golfing when Secret Service agents shot at a man with a rifle that was pointed at Trump through a fence. The former president was unharmed in the incident.

In addition to these assassination attempts, threats of political violence have heightened in the country, with some made against Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Barack Obama. The threats were traced to a Tennessee resident, Kyl Alton Hall, who posted about assassinating the three of them on X. Hall was later charged and arrested.

Since the bill has passed both the Senate and House of Representatives, it now awaits Biden’s signature before it will become law.