Members of Congress and their staff may soon have to go through a training course that American school children have endured for years — active shooter drills. One New York congressman is hoping his legislation to mandate such trainings can get to the president’s desk before January.  

Congressman Anthony D’Esposito, a Long Island GOP member who is in a tight race for reelection, has introduced legislation that would force all those who work on Capitol Hill — lawmakers, full-time staff, and part time employees alike — to participate in the active shooter drills every congressional term, or every two years. 

If the bill can make its way to President Biden’s desk, the House Administration Committee would within 60 days devise a plan for how such active shooter drills would be administered, and the training will be developed in consultation with and conducted by the Capitol Police and the House Sergeant at Arms. 

Members of Congress and staff already have to complete a number of ethics courses and other programs before taking their positions, and the active shooter drill would be a part of the broader preparations for entering the Capitol as an employee, elected or otherwise. 

In a statement to Axios, Mr. D’Esposito says the recent assassination attempt of President Trump, as well as the increased number of threats of political violence across the board, require that members of Congress and their staff members be prepared for the worst. 

“The assassination attempt on President Trump as well as the recent bomb threat called into my district office are just two examples of the startling rise of violence in the political arena,” Mr. D’Esposito says. “It is vital that Congress take all necessary precautions to ensure personnel safety during this period of heightened tensions.”

The legislation would “enhance the overall preparedness of the institution as we simultaneously reiterate our commitment to settling our differences of opinion on the debate stage, and never through violence,” the congressman added. 

While the attempt on Trump’s life took many by surprise, the precipitous rise of threats against elected officials and other political activists in recent years should have given some clue that an event such as the Butler, Pennsylvania attack could take place. 

In 2023, an angry mob stood outside of Justice Brett Kavanugh’s home in Maryland to intimidate him, and one man even traveled to the residence to kill the jurist before he turned himself into law enforcement officials. A Florida resident has been sentenced to more than a year in prison for threatening to kill Chief Justice Roberts. 

In Congress, where rank-and-file members do not have United States Marshals protection like the justices, Secret Service protection like the president and vice president, or even Capitol Police details like House and Senate leadership, the spike in threats has been astronomical. According to a May 2024 report from the New York Times, Capitol Police investigated more than 8,000 threats in 2023 — a 50 percent increase from 2018 that forced law enforcement to hire three prosecutors to help investigate the rise of threats. 

In some of the more famous moments, lawmakers have been attacked for taking stances on certain pieces of legislation. Senator Tillis posted an audio recording of a young woman who threatened to kill him and cut him into pieces if he supported a bill that could have forced the sale of the social media app TikTok by its parent company. Mr. Tillis later told the Sun that investigators had found out who the young lady was, and that her parents had talked to her. He said that he would have pressed charges had she been an adult.