The Trump administration is taking steps to protect its highest-profile spokesperson in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to a new report.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was granted a Secret Service protective detail in recent days, CBS News reported, citing “multiple sources familiar with the matter.”
Neither the White House nor the Secret Service immediately responded to a request for comment from The Independent.
Only the president and vice president are legally required to accept protection from the agency, which was created in 1865 by then-president Abraham Lincoln to combat counterfeiting but since the early 20th century has provided protection for America’s chief executive.
Other administration officials are routinely granted protection, including the White House chief of staff and national security adviser. And while it’s unusual for a White House press secretary to receive a protective detail, it’s not unprecedented.
In 2018, then-press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was assigned a Secret Service security detail after an incident in which a Lexington, Virginia restaurant refused to serve her.
The decision to grant Leavitt the same level of protection despite any known incidents involving her reflects the concern of White House officials about her safety as the administration’s most well-known communicator after the death of Kirk, who was a close friend of numerous administration officials.
Congress is currently mulling a proposal to increase funding for protection details for the executive and judicial branches by $58 million.
