‘Lessons learned…’: Secret Service admits ‘mission failures’ after Trump assassination attempt

The Secret Service admitted on Friday to communication errors and a lack of diligence when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was shot at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.
Addressing these failings at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, DC, acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe Jr said, as quoted by USA Today, “It is important that we hold ourselves accountable for the failures of July 13, and we take the lessons learned to ensure that we do not experience another mission failure like this again.”
Rowe said that the agency’s lapses in communication and operations contributed to the shooting incident.An internal interim report cited deficiencies in command, control, communication, and diligence in relation to the assassination attempt.
The Secret Service is responsible for securing events for former presidents, but in this case, they relied on local law enforcement for building security, according to Rowe. “We cannot abdicate or defer our responsibilities to others,” he said.

The federal agency plans to expand its security perimeter, which will require additional resources. Disciplinary measures for certain personnel are also under consideration. Rowe did not disclose the number of staff facing punishment or their roles but said, “These employees will be held accountable, and this agency has one of the most robust penalty systems in the entire federal government.”
Rowe also commented on a second assassination attempt on the former president at a Trump golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, saying, “What occurred on Sunday demonstrates the tremendous threat environment in which the Secret Service operates, with constant risks.” “We’ve been in this heightened, increasingly dynamic threat environment since July 13,” he added.
In response to the shooting, the House voted in favor of a bill requiring the same number of agents to protect presidential nominees as those assigned to the president and vice president. Representative Mike Lawyer said, “In America, elections should be decided at the ballot box, not by an assassin’s bullet.”
The Secret Service director confirmed the continued use of tactical assets for party nominees and assured that the agency would not lower its hiring standards despite the increased demands. This year, more than 400 special agents have been hired.
Rowe did not comment on security arrangements for Trump’s attendance at the Alabama vs Georgia football game on Saturday but noted, “Each event is complex.”
In a recent assassination attempt on the Republican presidential candidate, the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, camped outside Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course for nearly 12 hours with food and a rifle. He was allegedly aiming the rifle at the green from a sniper’s nest before being caught by a secret service agent.
On July 13, 2024, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire from a nearby roof, grazing Trump’s ear, wounding two others, and killing one attendee before being shot by a Secret Service sniper at a Pennsylvania rally.