Protective Security for Congress, Supreme Court Justices & Constitutional Continuity
PROTECTIVE SECURITY FOR CONGRESS, SUPREME COURT JUSTICES & CONSTITUTIONAL CONTINUITY
POSITION
Threats against elected officials and judges can disrupt constitutional government, intimidate public servants, and endanger innocent people. Protection must be strong enough to preserve the lawful operation of government, but it must never become a lifetime privilege, partisan reward, or private security benefit unrelated to public service.
Every member of Congress and every Supreme Court justice should receive a reliable baseline of protection. Full personal details should be assigned according to responsibility and documented risk, under neutral rules that politicians cannot manipulate.
BASELINE PROTECTION
Every member of Congress and Supreme Court justice receives continuous threat monitoring, a secure emergency contact, periodic residential and office security assessments, approved security improvements, travel coordination when warranted, and rapid federal response to credible threats.
Congressional leadership and officials in the presidential line of succession receive standing protective details because an attack on them can threaten continuity of government.
Other members of Congress receive temporary or continuing personal details when a documented threat, position-specific risk, event, travel condition, or intelligence assessment justifies the protection.
Every Supreme Court justice receives continuous protective coverage. At least two protective officers must be available for public appearances, official travel, and identified high-risk periods.
Immediate family members receive protection when a documented threat reasonably extends to them.
FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SECURITY BOARD
One Federal Protective Security Board should administer uniform standards through separate congressional and judicial voting panels. This preserves one national system while respecting the constitutional independence of Congress and the Supreme Court.
The congressional panel includes the Chief of the United States Capitol Police, the House Sergeant at Arms, the Senate Sergeant at Arms, and an independent career protective-security professional serving as chair.
The judicial panel includes the Marshal of the Supreme Court, the Chief of the Supreme Court Police, a career United States Marshals Service protective-security official, and the same independent chair.
The independent chair serves a fixed six-year term, may be removed only for documented cause, and may not hold elected office, work for a political party, or participate in a campaign while serving.
The applicable panel may approve, deny, expand, reduce, suspend, or end protection using written, viewpoint-neutral standards. Decisions require a recorded majority vote and written reasons preserved for audit, with operationally sensitive facts protected from public release.
No member may vote on the member's own protection or on protection for an immediate family member.
EMERGENCY AUTHORITY, DEADLINES & APPEALS
The Capitol Police Chief or Supreme Court Marshal may order immediate temporary protection when delay could endanger a person or constitutional operations.
The applicable board panel must review emergency protection within 10 calendar days.
An approval, denial, reduction, or removal may be appealed within 10 calendar days. A different panel member or designated independent reviewer must complete the appeal within the following 10 calendar days.
Continuing details must be reviewed at least every 90 days. Protection may continue only while the position or documented threat justifies it.
A denial or reduction may not take effect while an immediate, credible threat remains unresolved.
END OF OFFICE
Ordinary office-based protection ends when the official leaves office. Former members of Congress and former Supreme Court justices do not receive automatic lifetime protection.
The board may temporarily continue protection only when a specific, documented threat arises from the person's federal service. Any continuation must be reviewed every 30 calendar days, use the least protection reasonably sufficient, and end immediately when the qualifying threat ends. Protection may also continue briefly when necessary to complete a safe transition already in progress on the final day of office.
NONPARTISAN ADMINISTRATION & CIVIL LIBERTIES
Protection may not be granted, denied, reduced, or removed because of party affiliation, votes, rulings, speech, religion, race, sex, viewpoint, popularity, or political disagreement.
Protective personnel may not conduct campaign work, personal errands, political intelligence, or surveillance of lawful political, religious, journalistic, or protest activity.
A protected official may decline personal protection unless an immediate security measure is necessary to protect another person, a secured federal location, or continuity of government.
Protection must not obstruct lawful public access, peaceful protest, journalism, service of legal process, or accountability under the law.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY
An independent inspector general must audit the board, the congressional and judicial panels, expenditures, threat-assessment procedures, appeals, and misuse allegations each year. Public reporting must disclose aggregate approvals, denials, removals, appeals, staffing, and costs without revealing routes, residences, vulnerabilities, classified information, or active protective methods.
A person who knowingly falsifies a threat assessment, retaliates through a protection decision, diverts protective resources for private or political use, or discloses protected operational information is subject to removal, discipline, repayment, and any applicable civil or criminal law.
Core MPA standard: Protect the office, the person, and the continuity of constitutional government. Do not create a permanent political privilege.
Related policies: Constitutional Government & Separation of Powers; Government Integrity & Equal Justice; Government Transparency, Public Records & Duty of Candor; Federal Standards, Rights, and Accountability Agency.
Status: Proposed / Draft, not yet formally adopted.
Originally published: October 5, 2026.
Last updated: October 5, 2026.
Version: Draft 0.1.