The final hearing of the House task force that investigated the assassination attempts against Donald Trump devolved into an explosive moment Thursday, December 5, as the acting U.S. Secret Service director engaged in a screaming match with a GOP congressman.
During the hearing on Capitol Hill, Rep. Pat Fallon, of Texas, was scheduled to began his line of questioning by pressing acting Director Ronald Rowe about the agency’s failures to provide adequate protection for Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. But he really didn’t.
Fallon focused on asking about Rowe’s appearance at this year’s annual Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony at ground zero. The congressman displayed a large image of the event showing Rowe standing behind then-presidential candidate Trump, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, and then showed the same image but with a large red circle around Rowe’s face. Fallon asked Rowe what member of the Secret Service typically stands closest to the president at such an event, to which Rowe responded it’s usually the special agent in charge of the security detail. “Were you the special agent in charge of the detail that day?” Fallon asked.
In fact, Rowe was NOT the Agent in Charge, but that didn’t seem to matter to the MAGA Congressman.
This video ends with that heated exchange, but it begins with Rowe’s opening statement.
This information is from the Secret Service’s Mission Assurance document, the U.S. Secret Service Inquiry into the Events of July 13, 2024.
It attempts to answer the question: What Now?
“July 13, 2024, was a failure for the Secret Service. The protection of the President, Vice President, and major candidates for those offices is part of the vital mission of the Secret Service. The agency has made several operational, policy, and organizational changes, some because of the findings and recommendations of the Mission Assurance Inquiry, and others done proactively in the wake of the July 13 incident. Additionally, the Secret Service is examining the recommendations it has received from other entities investigating the failure of the agency in Butler, Pennsylvania. Since the tragic events of July 13, 2024, the agency has implemented the following changes:
- The agency is providing the highest levels of Secret Service protection to the Vice President and former President Trump, commensurate to the level of the President.
- Increased the staffing levels of specials agents assigned to former President Trump’s protective detail.
- Expanded the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for aerial observation at venues.
- Expanded the use of counter unmanned aerial systems to mitigate the use of a UAS as a kinetic attack vector.
- Addressed radio interoperability by requiring, and ensuring through appropriate supervision, the co-location of Secret Service personnel with state and local public safety counterparts at unified command posts.
- Deployed Secret Service and Department of Defense personnel to assist in the development of radio communications networks, with redundancies, at Secret Service-protected campaign sites.
- Implemented agreements with federal partners to secure additional federal law enforcement personnel and assets to support Secret Service protective operations when the agency’s personnel and assets are temporarily committed to other protective visits.
- Expanded Secret Service tactical coverage, augmented by other federal tactical units, to support protective operations for the Vice President, former President Trump, and others.
- Expanded use of ballistic countermeasures at Secret Service-protected campaign sites.
- Expanded use of technical countermeasures and technologies to enhance the security of former President Trump and his residence.
- Effected multiple organizational changes to better align enabling technologies with the appropriate operational level in the agency and to leverage research and development of emerging technologies to give the Secret Service a technical advantage over its adversaries.
