Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has had his Secret Service protection rescinded just days after he suspended his campaign in key battleground states and endorsed former President Donald Trump. The decision, confirmed by both Kennedy’s team and the Secret Service, comes as a standard procedure when a candidate suspends their campaign. However, the timing has raised eyebrows and fueled speculation that the decision could be politically motivated.
Kennedy’s press secretary, Stefanie Spear, announced the change on August 25, stating that he “no longer has USSS protection.” Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service chief of communications, echoed this in a statement, confirming that Kennedy lost his protection after his campaign was partially suspended.
The removal of protection comes after Kennedy was denied Secret Service coverage five times before finally receiving it following an assassination attempt on former President Trump in July. The attack, which left Trump slightly injured, prompted widespread calls for increased security measures for Kennedy, given his family’s tragic history.
Kennedy has been vocal about what he sees as a politicized decision-making process within federal agencies. He previously criticized the repeated denials of protection as part of a larger trend of federal overreach to serve political agendas. Critics argue that stripping his security just after he endorsed Trump lends credence to those claims.
As Kennedy shifts to actively campaigning for Trump in battleground states, questions remain about how his campaign will handle security going forward. The move has drawn intense scrutiny as Kennedy continues to navigate the complexities of an increasingly polarized political landscape.
