Haley should receive Secret Service protection, a congressional panel says

USA

A panel of top congressional leaders has recommended that Nikki Haley receive Secret Service protection after considering the severity of the threats against her and her strength in the national polls, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Haley campaign requested details from the Secret Service after she faced mounting threats as she emerged as former President Donald J. Trump's latest challenger for the Republican nomination for president.

The Secret Service protects major candidates for president, but it is up to the Secretary of Homeland Security to determine who qualifies as a “major candidate.” Under federal law, he does this in consultation with a congressional advisory committee that includes the four top leaders in Congress: the speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives, majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and one other member.

The person confirmed the panel's recommendation, reported previously by CNN, on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to make it public.

Now that the panel has ruled on Ms. Haley, it is now up to Alejandro N. Mayorkas to determine whether she should receive a taxpayer-funded security detail.

According to the criteria established by the advisory committee, Mr. Mayorkas may consider different factors in determining who should receive protection, including an assessment of the severity of the threats they have received; whether they have achieved levels of 15 percent or higher in national surveys for at least 30 days; and whether they are the former or de facto nominee of a major party for president or vice president.

Other candidates, most recently Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have said they were rejected Secret Service protection.

Ms. Haley has been the target of at least two hoax calls that sent authorities rushing to her home. Trump's supporters are known to attack his political opponents with racist messages, death threats and “swatting” calls, or false reports of emergencies in their homes.