As the Secret Service faces scrutiny after former President Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, the agency has reportedly issued a new code name for vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance.
The Ohio senator is Trump's running mate as the 45th president aims to return to the White House.
Vance's Secret Service code name is "Bobcat," according to the Daily Mail, which cited a friend of Vance's.
Secret Service code names are given to presidents, vice presidents, first ladies, and other high-profile individuals under the agency's protection.
These names once had a real cloak-and-dagger purpose to protect the nation's top leaders.
But today, in the era of encrypted technology, the names are largely ceremonial and used for ease of communication in fast, high-pressure situations.
Code names are chosen by "sheer whim," a Secret Service spokesperson once told The Washington Post.
However, they do seem to have some connection to the individual's personal history or heritage, and there’s a tradition of alliteration within families.