WASHINGTON — Emotions ran high as lawmakers grilled U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. on the agency’s security failures leading up to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13.
Thursday’s hearing was the final meeting for the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump before the release of their final report about the two attempted assassinations of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, and in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15.
Rowe testified as the solo witness, acknowledging that “July 13 was a failure.”
“We did not meet the expectations of the American public, Congress and our protectees,” Rowe said.
On July 13, Trump was injured in his right ear after being shot by Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Crooks fired eight rounds from an AR-15 rifle from the roof of a nearby building. The attack also resulted in the death of one attendee and left two others critically injured.
Chairman of the Task Force Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., pinpointed three key areas of failure with the July 13 assassination attempt: planning errors that led to confusion among local law enforcement partners, public access to the building during the rally and a lack of rapid communication between Secret Service personnel.
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., said, “It’s just wild to me that in 2024, our nation’s premier law enforcement agency on July 13th was using text messages on their personal cell phones, literally sending emails in some cases to deliver real-time information, and scribbling messages on paper and not using a system.”
Other representatives criticized the culture of the Secret Service.
“Your guys showed up that day and didn’t give a shit!” Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn, said. “This is a leadership issue.”
When Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, asked Rowe why he was pictured behind Vice President Harris, President Joe Biden, President-elect Trump and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at a 9/11 remembrance event, even though he wasn’t the special agent in charge of the detail that day, the exchange quickly evolved into a screaming match.
Rowe yelled, “Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes!”
After the hearing, Fallon said that Rowe was the one “politicizing” the 9/11 remembrance event.
“That’s a bunch of bullshit. He could have been there to respect 9/11 as every American wants to and not interrupt [the security detail],” Fallon said.
Despite becoming defensive over his appearance at the 9/11 event, Rowe owned up to Secret Service’s “failures” at today’s hearing.
“The terrorist, the nation state actor, the sniper, the lone wolf gunman — they must be lucky once, but the men and women of the Secret Service must be perfect every time,” Rowe said.
The Task Force is set to release its final report within the next few days.
