House Task Force Urges 37 Secret Service Reforms After Preventable Trump Assassination Attempt

Dec 10, 2024, 08:57 PM

The bipartisan House Task Force investigating the assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump released its final report on Tuesday, concluding that the attacks were preventable and resulted from significant failures in planning, execution, and leadership by the U.S. Secret Service and other federal agencies. The report determined that various systemic shortcomings—not a single moment—created an environment that allowed an armed gunman to nearly assassinate Trump during a September 15 incident near Butler, Pennsylvania. Among its 37 policy recommendations, the task force urged reforms including narrowing the Secret Service's mission, removing it from the Department of Homeland Security, recording all radio transmissions, and limiting the protection of foreign leaders during the campaign season to focus on U.S. officials. The report also criticized agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, FBI, and ATF for security failures and for stonewalling the investigation. Lawmakers involved, including Rep. Daniel Webster and Rep. Laurel Lee, expressed commitment to implementing the recommended changes to ensure such events do not happen again.