Biden administration denies RFK Jr. request for Secret Service protection
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the leading Democratic primary challenger to President Joe Biden, expressed on X (formerly Twitter) that the Biden administration rejected his request for Secret Service protection, which is customary for early presidential candidates. He mentioned that candidates have received such protection since his father's assassination in 1968, but he has been denied the same privilege.
Kennedy tweeted that the usual waiting time for pro forma protection requests from presidential candidates is 14 days. However, after 88 days without a response and numerous follow-ups by his campaign, the Biden administration finally turned down their request.
According to Kennedy, Secretary Mayorkas stated, "I have determined that Secret Service protection for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not warranted at this time." Kennedy highlighted that his campaign provided 67 pages of security risk details to support their request.
The law specifies that major candidates should receive Secret Service protection 120 days before a general election, and the mainstream media quickly pointed out that this deadline is far ahead in time. Breitbart and Politico noted that other major candidates, such as Barack Obama in May 2007, and Donald Trump and Ben Carson in 2015, received Secret Service protection much earlier in their campaigns.
Given that Biden is attempting to bring his main GOP rival to justice, it is not surprising that his administration would deny Kennedy protection. The administration may even speculate that an assassination attempt on RFK Jr. could remove him as a threat to Biden's candidacy. This refusal also sends a clear message that RFK Jr. is not considered a relevant candidate, despite his potential to weaken Biden's standing, much like his father did with Lyndon Johnson, and his uncle Ted Kennedy did with Jimmy Carter in 1980.
People may wonder why RFK Jr. is concerned about assassination. If one's uncle and father were both assassinated while pursuing political ambitions, it is natural to have significant concerns about safety. The fear remains that a mentally unstable individual could target the last of the Kennedy family.
