WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) — Republican presidential candidates Ben Carson and Donald Trump on Thursday were cleared to receive federal protective teams from the U.S. Secret Service, the chief of the Homeland Security department said.
Secretary Jeh Johnson authorized the GOP contenders for a protective detail after each camp issued a formal request last month, ABC News reported.
The federal government began allowing candidates to receive protection after the assassination of New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Kennedy, who was making a charge at the Democratic nomination at the time he was killed, had only been protected by a privately employed bodyguard — not a security team from the Secret Service.
Trump and Carson, so far, are the Republican front-runners for the party’s nomination.
In an interview with The Hill last month, Trump expressed frustration with the time it takes the Homeland Security department to clear Secret Service protection.
“They’re in no rush because I’m a Republican,” he said. “They don’t give a [expletive].”
Both Carson and Trump said they have received death threats.
On the Democratic side, only Hillary Clinton has Secret Service protection — even though she never requested it. All former first ladies receive lifelong protection from the agency.
