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The congressional official said that the “big four congressional leaders were notified today that the Biden campaign has submitted a formal request for USSS protection.” Those leaders are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“Disposition of the matter expected soon,” the source said.
The next step would be to send a request to the Department of Homeland Security, which would then most likely give the go-ahead to the Secret Service to begin meetings with the campaign to discuss when the security transition would begin.
House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson said Wednesday that he raised concerns with Biden about his lack of Secret Service protection on Sunday in Mississippi — and the former vice president told him that he would consider making a formal request.
Thompson said his concerns were heightened amid news of raucous crowds at a Biden event in Detroit and protesters rushing the stage at a Biden rally in Los Angeles last week.
Biden was just minutes into his speech last week when two women rushed toward the podium where he was celebrating his Super Tuesday wins. The first woman was grabbed by Biden’s private security guard and led offstage. Seconds later, the second woman climbed onto the stage and Jill Biden put herself between the protester and her husband. Symone Sanders, a senior campaign adviser, charged onto the platform and hauled the protester off the stage.
The next day, Thompson urged Wolf and the four congressional leaders, who compose the Candidate Protection Advisory Committee, to begin considering dispatching the Secret Service protection, citing the protesters in Los Angeles.
A Secret Service official said that same day that the agency was reconsidering the timetable for rolling out campaign bodyguards after the incident.
Presidential candidates historically receive Secret Service details during the primary season as their crowd sizes and the possibility of threats swell.
This story has been updated to include details on the security incident earlier this month in Los Angeles.
CNN’s Eric Bradner and Manu Raju contributed to this report.
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