Moskowitz and Fry Introduce Bill to Move Secret Service Under White House

Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Russell Fry, R-S.C., introduced legislation Thursday to transfer the Secret Service from Department of Homeland Security supervision and place it as a direct report to the White House.

The measure forms part of a broader bipartisan reform package that Moskowitz, a former emergency management director, is unveiling to address bureaucratic dysfunction at DHS. The package would also elevate the Federal Emergency Management Agency to an independent cabinet-level agency and shift the Transportation Security Administration under the Department of Transportation.

Moskowitz said the goal is to reduce red tape at DHS that hampers its subagencies. He made that observation firsthand as a member of the congressional task force investigating the first assassination attempt against President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"Going to Butler, talking to Secret Service, is when I realized, well, the Secret Service is suffering the same problems that FEMA is suffering," Moskowitz said in an interview with Fox News Digital. "Because they were such a small agency, they couldn't get the resources they needed. They couldn't get decisions being made."

"These pieces of legislation would streamline all three of those agencies," Moskowitz added. "It would cut a lot of the bureaucracy we're getting at DHS."

Moskowitz attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where Secret Service agents subdued the alleged shooter in the third assassination attempt against Trump in April. He said the incident underscored the need to make the agency directly accountable to the president and give agents more resources.

Fry, who is co-leading the bill, said it would let the Secret Service focus on protecting the president without bureaucratic distractions. "In a time where political attacks are becoming increasingly rampant, the Secret Service should be able to focus solely on its mission of protecting top U.S. officials — not dealing with bureaucratic tape that ultimately serves as a distraction to keeping the president safe," Fry said.

Moskowitz’s package follows a 76-day DHS funding lapse that ended in late April. The Florida lawmaker opposed full-year DHS spending bills but backed funding for the department’s non-immigration functions.

Passage of the reforms would likely protect TSA, Secret Service and FEMA from future prolonged funding gaps. More than 1,000 TSA agents quit during the shutdown, causing long security lines at major airports and more missed flights.

"I don't think the American people should have their lives interrupted at the airport because of the dysfunction in Washington," Moskowitz told Fox News Digital.

He argued TSA would operate better under the Department of Transportation. "The idea that the Department of Transportation, they have the FAA that keeps our skies safe, but then Homeland keeps the people safe in the airport … we should put things under one roof," Moskowitz said. "I'm trying to unify keeping people safe in the air and safe on the ground when flying."

Moskowitz’s prior push to make FEMA cabinet-level has stalled in committee. He said he has discussed DHS reforms with Trump administration members and sees strong bipartisan backing.

"The question is, are we able to function and actually do something like this anymore?" Moskowitz said. "Or are we just only able to fund the agencies now and can't do any reform?"

Moskowitz is partnering with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., on the FEMA measure and co-leading the TSA bill with Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. He plans to seek re-election in Florida’s new GOP-leaning 25th Congressional District after Republicans redrew the map last week.