Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8685

Protect the Presidency Act

Punishment: Death Penalty for Attempted Presidential Assassination

2 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committee

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being sent to the House Committee on the Judiciary for review. It is considered active, but there are no upcoming votes or hearings scheduled at this time. There is no companion bill currently linked to this proposal.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Very unlikely to pass

Most bills like this do not become law because they face major legal challenges and lack enough support from both parties in the Senate.

Key Points

This bill would change federal law to allow the death penalty for anyone who tries to kill the president or vice president. Right now, the law only allows for prison sentences if the person survives the attack.
The new rules would also cover attempts to kill the president-elect, the vice president-elect, or the person next in line for the presidency. It is meant to discourage people from planning or carrying out attacks on top government leaders.
Under this plan, a court could sentence someone to death even if their attempt to kill a leader failed. This would make the punishment for an attempt the same as the punishment for a successful assassination.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

May 7, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

May 7, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Protect the Presidency Act

Bill NumberHR 8685

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.