By Steve Neavling
A Senate committee investigating the July 13 shooting at a Donald Trump rally is calling for Congress to reevaluate the Secret Service’s budget and mandate that security for U.S. leaders and political candidates be based on threat assessments rather than their office status.
These recommendations were included in a preliminary 133-page report released Wednesday by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The report highlights the operational and communication failures that allowed a 20-year-old gunman to gain access to an unsecured roof at the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., where he fired eight shots toward the stage. The attack resulted in the death of one attendee and injuries to Trump and two others.
In the wake of the Pennsylvania shooting and a possible assassination attempt against Trump in Florida on Sept. 15, the Secret Service has requested a substantial increase to its $3 billion annual budget. The agency is seeking more resources to hire additional agents, upgrade equipment, and enhance training.
However, the bipartisan Senate panel was split on how much additional funding should be allocated, with some senators expressing concerns over the agency’s failure to take responsibility for the security lapses. They recommended that Congress require the Secret Service to record its radio communications at all events where protectees are present to improve accountability.
“The thing that was frustrating as we dug into this event is that everybody pointed at each other,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the committee chairman, at a briefing on the report. “There was no one point of contact who said, ‘Yes, I signed off on this plan and it met all the criteria.’ People were critical of the plan, and when we asked, ‘Who’s in charge?’ everybody said, ‘It wasn’t me, it was somebody else.’ That’s simply unacceptable.”
Secret Service acting director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. has taken responsibility for the lapses during the rally and said that the agency immediately ramped up security for Trump, one of over 40 dignitaries under its protection. Rowe released an internal review last Friday, acknowledging some of the agency’s failures at the event, while also commending agents for successfully preventing the Florida attack.
In a statement on Wednesday, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi noted that the findings of the Senate report mirrored those of the agency’s own review. He emphasized the challenges facing agents due to the increasing number of threats and protectees and reiterated the need for more funding, training, and staff.
“The weight of our mission is not lost on us, and in this hyperdynamic threat environment, the U.S. Secret Service cannot fail,” Guglielmi said. “Many of the insights gained from the Senate report align with the findings from our mission assurance review and are essential to ensuring that what happened on July 13 never happens again.
