WH seeks more Supreme Court security funding after Kirk killing
(NYT) — The Trump administration has asked Congress to approve $58 million in emergency funding to bolster security for the Supreme Court, citing a surge in threats against public officials after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The request, sent to lawmakers last week, underscores growing fears in Washington that federal officials face extraordinary danger from political violence.
In a formal notice to Congress, the administration said the money would go to the U.S. Marshals Service to cover additional protective operations for the justices.
The proposal comes just days after Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump and a prominent voice in the conservative movement, was killed in what authorities have described as a politically motivated attack. His death has heightened concerns among both Democrats and Republicans about the safety of high-profile figures in government and politics.
The additional funding “is necessary due to increased threats against public officials,” the request said, pointing to “anticipated costs for the marshals to provide protective services for the Supreme Court of the United States.” The money would remain available through September 2027.
The administration also acknowledged in its request that Congress itself also faced the possibility of violence. While the White House stopped short of dictating how to expand protections for the legislative branch, it urged lawmakers to consider adding additional resources for the Capitol Police and other security measures.
Pope Leo says he cannot broker a peace deal for Ukraine
ROME (NYT) — Despite some early media chatter about the pope helping broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, the Vatican is unlikely to act as a mediator in the search for a peace deal, Pope Leo XIV said in excerpts from an interview published Sunday.
“I’d make a distinction in terms of the voice of the Holy See in advocating for peace and a role as mediator, which I think is very different and is not as realistic as the first one,” Leo said in the interview, parts of which were published in Crux, a Catholic news outlet.
The pope, who was elected as the first pontiff from the United States in May, said the Vatican was making “great efforts to maintain a position” that did not take “one side or the other” but was “truly neutral.”
“Some things I’ve said have been interpreted in one way or the other, and that’s all right, but I think that the realistic part of it is not primary right now,” he said in the interview with Elise Ann Allen, senior correspondent for Crux.
The pope’s remarks came during interviews conducted for an authorized biography written by Allen that is being published in Spanish this week. English and Portuguese editions will be published early next year.
In his first months as pope, Leo, who was born in Chicago but spent two decades of his career in Peru, said that he had met with numerous world leaders and heads of international institutions and that multinational cooperation was difficult. The United Nations in particular, he said, has not been functioning well at convening nations to solve problems.