WASHINGTON — The Capitol Police must expand to face a rise in threats to lawmakers’ safety, Chief Michael G. Sullivan told House appropriators on Tuesday.

The department is seeking more than $1 billion for fiscal 2027, an increase of 20% over current levels and its largest request to date.

This was Sullivan’s first budget hearing since his hiring as chief last June, after serving as interim leader of the Phoenix Police Department. His hiring came as Capitol Police leadership has continued to face scrutiny over its handling of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and some embarrassing lapses that let guns through security checkpoints.

The force must do more to boost retention as it loses officers to retirement and competes with other agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Sullivan testified before the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee.

Lawmakers were largely supportive of Sullivan’s request, with several mentioning threats they themselves received. “I doubt there’s a member on this dais that hasn’t had some type of threat since they’ve been in office,” said Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V.

But there was still some sticker shock at a police budget that has more than doubled in the last decade.

“We’re in a constrained budget environment, and this committee has to always make tough decisions,” said subcommittee ranking member Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y. “So I’ll be direct: You have asked for more funding, and if this committee holds your budget flat for fiscal year 2027, what specifically breaks?”

Sullivan responded that Capitol Police considers its budget to be “very lean” in the face of “exponential” growth in threats against lawmakers — citing nearly 15,000 threat assessment cases against lawmakers, their families and staff in 2025 — and a twofold increase in support for congressional delegation visits abroad.

“A number of things would be at risk, and we’d have to make some very, very tough decisions,” Sullivan said.

Members’ fears only deepened last year after the slayings of Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, especially over how to keep safe while traveling away from the Capitol in their home districts.

In the current fiscal year, appropriators boosted funding for the House Sergeant-at-Arms to reimburse members for personal security services, while also setting aside $30 million to help Capitol Police establish mutual aid agreements with law enforcement agencies around the country. Sullivan said Tuesday the department has doubled those agreements since he arrived and now has them in all 50 states.

His request for the coming fiscal year includes $734 million for salaries and benefits and $273 million for general expenses, along with $15.7 million for multiyear security and cybersecurity upgrades.

A significant staff shortage has forced the Capitol Police to rely on overtime to meet security needs. Around 500 additional staff would be needed over the department’s current level of 2,300 sworn officers, including a minimum of 150 uniformed officers, to fully staff existing posts and checkpoints in the Capitol and surrounding office buildings.

Uncertainty around overtime scheduling has helped drive flagging morale, Sullivan said.

Compounding this are problems with recruitment and retention. The department sees around 24 recruits every month, Sullivan said, not all of whom make the cut. “We will not lower (our) standards,” Sullivan said in response to a question by Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y.

Capitol Police has also had to compete with other law enforcement agencies, like ICE, that may offer more competitive pay and benefits, such as significant signing bonuses to new recruits.

“Hiring is one thing. Being able to retain … is something we need to focus on,” Sullivan said.

Subcommittee Democrats repeatedly brought up delays in installing a plaque commemorating the Capitol Police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which was recently installed in a temporary location years after a deadline set by law, and President Donald Trump’s pardon of 1,500 rioters involved in the attack.

Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., asked how both of these had affected morale among Capitol Police.

“We don’t do this job for plaques or recognition,” said Sullivan. “However, the men and women that do this work appreciate the recognition of the hard work that we do every day to keep every member safe.”

“What about the pardon?” asked Hoyer.

“All of those things affected this organization and the morale of men and women,” Sullivan said.

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