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Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8685

Protect the Presidency Act

Punishment: Death Penalty for Attempted Presidential Assassination

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.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation 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.

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)
R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.