By Steve Neavling
Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, the leading Democrat on the bipartisan House task force investigating the assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump, expressed concern about “a culture of silence” within the Secret Service that discourages agents from speaking up when they should.
“I was struck by the stories in the recount of the specific actions of officers and agents on the ground that day,” Crow said during an appearance on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, CBS News reports. “There were some heroic ones, but there were also a lot of examples of people that knew that something was wrong and they didn’t say anything.”
The task force, established by a House vote earlier this year, recently concluded its investigation into security failures surrounding the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Penn., and the Sept. 15 foiled attempt in West Palm Beach, Fla. The initial attack led to intense scrutiny of the Secret Service and the resignation of its director.
In the task force’s final hearing last week, Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe acknowledged failures in securing the Butler event, citing “critical gaps” in the agency’s operations.
“We did not meet the expectations of the American public, Congress, and our protectees,” Rowe said, emphasizing his “singular focus to bring much-needed reform to the Secret Service.” He also highlighted the challenges of operating in a “heightened threat environment, with expanding protection requirements.”
“The responsibilities of the Secret Service are critical to the national security of the United States,” Rowe added, noting that “our agency is not defined by one failure, but by our ability to learn from mistakes.”
Task force chairman Rep. Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican whose district includes Butler, criticized the agency’s leadership and argued that its integration into the Department of Homeland Security diminished its autonomy and prestige.
“When you’re the best of the best, when you’re the elite of the elites, if you lose that, then all of a sudden you just become part of a team,” Kelly said on Face the Nation. “That was a huge mistake.”
Kelly condemned the Secret Service’s handling of the July 13 attack, calling it a failure “at every step of the way,” from site selection and preparation to coordination and communication. He noted the lack of a team meeting before the event and the exclusion of local law enforcement from planning.
“On July 13, there was a lack of professionalism, there was a lack of concern, there was a lack of coordination, and the ability to communicate is the one thing I’ll never understand,” Kelly said. “You knew you couldn’t talk to each other. Why did you go forward?”
Crow also raised unresolved questions about the motivations of the Butler shooter and the would-be shooter in West Palm Beach. He accused the Justice Department and FBI of “stonewalling” the task force’s requests for information, citing ongoing criminal investigations as the reason for their refusal to provide details. Crow called this stance “unacceptable.”
The Colorado Democrat pointed to a broader systemic issue within the Secret Service, despite acknowledging the dedication of many of its agents.
“The structure, the personnel, the staffing of the Secret Service hasn’t changed in years, at the same time as we are now asking them to do things that they didn’t do a decade ago,” Crow said.
He argued that the increased demands on agents leave little time for essential training, resulting in mission failures like the one in Butler.
Meanwhile, Kelly emphasized the task force’s commitment to restoring public trust in the Secret Service, acknowledging the immense pressure the agency faces.
“You’ve got to be ready every single moment for anything that could possibly happen. Is that a difficult task? Yes. Is it almost impossible? Yes,” Kelly said. “But you know what’s not impossible, our dedication to the fact that we’re going to do the best we can do every single day to ensure that the American people have the faith and trust and confidence they must have in us.”
