Pelosi Plans Vote Next Week to Expand Supreme Court Security

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans a vote on a bill early next week to bolster security for the families of Supreme Court justices, days after a man was arrested near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh with a gun and charged with attempted murder.

“We certainly will do it next week” Pelosi told reporters after Democrats blocked several attempts to unanimously pass the Senate bill. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer later said on the floor that he had thought he had a deal with Republicans but “unfortunately this morning that appeared to not be the case.”

The Senate in May passed the Supreme Court Police Parity Act, which would authorize police protection for families of Supreme Court justices and for staff of the court if the court marshal decides it is necessary.

House Democrats are attempting to add protections for families of Supreme Court staff members but talks on those amendments remain at an impasse. They blocked House Republican attempts to pass the safety bill unanimously on Wednesday and Thursday.

Republicans have slammed Democrats for delaying passage of the bill.

“It has sat here for a month,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on the House floor. “This bill should be on the president’s desk right now.”

Pelosi said that Kavanaugh is already protected so the delay is not harmful to him.

“There will be a bill but nobody is in danger over the weekend because of us not having a bill,” she said.

The Justice Department is pursuing attempted murder charges against the California man. Police said he confessed to planning to kill the justice after becoming enraged over a leaked draft decision overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion rights case.

Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, California, told detectives he believed the justice would vote to loosen gun controls in a pending Supreme Court decision.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net

Megan Scully, Magan Crane

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