Acting Secret Service Director Admits 'Abject Failure' in Protecting Trump at July 13 Rally in Final House Hearing

Dec 5, 2024, 02:32 PM

Acting U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe testified on December 5th before the bipartisan House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, marking the final hearing in the panel's five-month investigation. The session, broadcast live, focused on the agency's failures during a July 13 rally at the Butler Farm Show site in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a gunman shot at President-elect Donald Trump, grazing his ear, killing one rally attendee, and injuring two others. Rowe acknowledged the "abject failure" of the Secret Service to adequately secure the event, revealing that an internal review identified failures by multiple employees warranting disciplinary action. "July 13th was a failure of the Secret Service," he stated. "We did not meet the expectations of the American public, Congress, and our protectees. There will be accountability." The task force aims to understand the security lapses that led to both assassination attempts and to implement necessary changes within the agency.