US election 2016: Donald Trump and Ben Carson to receive Secret Service protection

Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson will soon be getting their very own Secret Service details. The Department of Homeland Security announced that the candidate's protection detail, which they will be getting within days, was authorized by Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.

The two outside candidates requested the taxpayer-funded protection around a month ago, The Washington Post reported. As of 4 November, Secret Service agents began hearing that they could be assigned to new details this week. However, when questioned by The Post both the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security said no formal decision had been made.

Trump and Carson are the first presidential candidates of the 2016 campaign season to receive Secret Service protection. However, CNN noted that Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton already has a Secret Service detail as she is a former first lady.

"As prescribed by statute, authorization for Secret Service protection for presidential candidates is determined by the Secretary of homeland Security after consultation with a congressional advisory committee composed of the speaker of the House, the House minority leader, the Senate majority leader, the Senate minority leader and an additional member selected by the committee," DHS spokeswoman Marsha Catron said in a statement.

The Washington Post revealed that nominated presidential candidates from both parties began getting protection from the Secret Service following Robert Kennedy's assassination in 1968. Meanwhile, frontrunners in each party or candidates who face unique threats against their safety get protection under a new process established in 2008.

Secretary Johnson approved the candidates's requests on 4 November after looking into their poll standings, contributions received and the threat environment the two found themselves in. USA Today reported that despite requesting protection, Carson indicated he was not looking forward to receiving it during a book signing in October. "I don't feel the need for it, quite frankly, but the Secret Service thinks that I need it, so it is what it is," the retired neurosurgeon told reporters.