The Secret Service is implementing changes following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, announced the agency’s new acting director on July 30.
Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. revealed that he visited the site of the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where former President Donald Trump was shot by a man who fired from the roof of the nearby AGR building.
“What I saw made me ashamed,” Rowe told two U.S. Senate committees on Capitol Hill in Washington. “As a career law enforcement officer, and a twenty-five-year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.”
“To prevent similar lapses from occurring in the future, I directed our personnel to ensure every event site security plan is thoroughly vetted by multiple experienced supervisors before it is implemented,” he added.
Rowe stated that he believed agents had enough time to prepare for the rally and described the incident as a “failure on multiple levels.”
Along with former President Trump, three other individuals were shot, one of whom died.
Rowe took over as acting director after Kimberly Cheatle, the presidential appointee who was serving as director, resigned one week after former President Trump was shot.
Before resigning, Cheatle told Congress that the assassination attempt marked the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure in decades.”
Lawmakers from both parties argued that the Secret Service should have secured the rooftop of the nearby building or ensured that other law enforcement agencies did so.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appointed Ronald Rowe Jr. as acting director. With 24 years at the Secret Service, Rowe previously served as the agency’s deputy director.
“I appreciate his willingness to lead the Secret Service at this incredibly challenging moment, as the agency works to get to the bottom of exactly what happened on July 13 and cooperate with ongoing investigations and Congressional oversight,” Mayorkas stated.
Rowe stated that since the rally shooting, the Secret Service has introduced enhanced protective measures, including increased use of drones at sites, to “ensure the safety of the people and places we protect.”
He noted that the agency has bolstered protection for all individuals under its care, is conducting threat assessments for everyone, and has begun protecting six new individuals. This includes Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who was recently added to former President Trump’s ticket, and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to whom officials had previously denied protection.
Rowe also stated that officials are working to ensure strong and effective protection for the Democratic National Convention, following their efforts to secure the Republican National Convention.
“I am immensely proud of the selfless dedication of our employees to the mission,” he said. “Every day, across the globe, the men and women [of the Secret Service] answer the call to protect our nation’s leaders and the standard is no fail for a reason.”
The acting director indicated that, depending on the outcome of an internal investigation, some employees might face disciplinary action, which could include termination.
The Secret Service is conducting its own investigation, while the U.S. House of Representatives and the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general are also doing an investigation.
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