A congressional task force, established to examine recent assassination attempts targeting Donald Trump, has put forth a recommendation to consider moving the U.S. Secret Service from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This suggestion emerged from a 180-page report, released on December 10, 2024, which offered a detailed look into two separate incidents—one in Pennsylvania and another in Florida—that endangered the then-President-elect. The report also proposed adjustments to the protection of foreign leaders during election periods.
Concurrently, lawmakers are navigating the complexities of departmental funding. On April 30, 2026, the House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to fund the majority of the DHS, thereby ending an unprecedented 76-day government shutdown. President Trump signed the bill swiftly. However, this funding package specifically excludes crucial immigration enforcement branches, namely Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This selective funding reflects an ongoing disagreement over immigration policy, with Democrats withholding support for these agencies without accompanying reforms to detention and deportation practices.
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Bipartisan Alliance Forms Around Departmental Overhaul
The idea of separating the Secret Service from DHS has gained traction across party lines. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat from Florida, recently joined the Republican-led DOGE Caucus. This group, focused on re-evaluating government spending, now includes Moskowitz as its first Democratic member. Moskowitz has previously advocated for decoupling other agencies, such as FEMA, from DHS. His involvement in the DOGE Caucus and his membership on the bipartisan task force investigating the assassination attempts against Trump place him at the nexus of these discussions. The caucus’s broader objective is to address government expenditure, with discussions extending to the economic impacts of the incoming Trump administration.
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Legislative Maneuvers and Lingering Divisions
The recent funding bill’s passage, while ending a protracted shutdown that began in February, underscores the deep divisions on Capitol Hill. Democrats had largely resisted funding ICE and CBP, framing them as instruments of Trump’s "violent mass deportation machine." The agreement to fund other DHS components, such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard, and FEMA, was seen by some as a necessary step to alleviate disruptions, particularly at airports, caused by the shutdown.
The compromise involved the House agreeing to a Senate-passed bill that fully funded DHS with the noted exceptions. Separate legislative tracks were intended to address the funding needs of ICE and CBP at a later date. This strategy emerged after weeks of deadlock, testing the resolve of Democrats, especially in a critical midterm election year, to oppose the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies.
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Background
The Department of Homeland Security, established in 2003 in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, consolidated numerous federal agencies and programs responsible for border security, emergency response, and critical infrastructure protection. Its scope is vast, encompassing entities like FEMA, TSA, the Coast Guard, CBP, and ICE. The agency employs approximately 260,000 individuals.
The recent shutdown, which stretched for 76 days, highlighted the inherent tensions within DHS's mission, particularly the balance between national security, border management, and humanitarian concerns. The assassination attempts on Donald Trump in 2026 brought renewed scrutiny to the operational independence and organizational structure of the Secret Service, which falls under the DHS umbrella. The ensuing debate over departmental restructuring and funding reflects a broader political discourse on immigration, national security, and the role of federal agencies.
