Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting

What happened

Two reports released over the weekend detail the Secret Service's "security failures" before the July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

One report from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs "reveals a disturbing pattern of communication failures and negligence" within the agency; separate analysis from the Government Accountability Office found that senior-level Secret Service agents knew about an ongoing threat to Trump at the time, but that the agency's "siloed practice for sharing classified threat information" kept the teams in charge of security for the Butler rally in the dark. Neither report discusses the gunman's motives.

Who said what

The Secret Service "denied multiple requests for additional staff, assets, and resources" ahead of the rally, according to the HSGAC. It also "failed to implement security measures" that could have prevented the attack, the GAO report said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The agency's shortcomings that day were the "culmination of years of mismanagement," said Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). He blamed the Biden administration for denying requests for additional security, adding that Americans "should be grateful" that Trump survived and was "re-elected to restore common sense to our country."

What next?

The Secret Service has already implemented 21 of 46 Congressional recommendations for improvement, according to The Associated Press. The budget bill Trump signed into law on July 4 allocated $1.17 billion in funding for the agency.