Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. used an hourslong appearance before House lawmakers to outline sweeping changes the agency is making after its “failure” during the attempted assassinations of Donald Trump.
The Thursday hearing is the second, and final, public meeting by a bipartisan House task force that is investigating the attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally in July, as well as a second attempt in Florida. In addition to the hearing, the panel also voted on Thursday to release its final report, detailing its findings and recommendations.
“July 13 was a failure of the Secret Service to adequately secure the Butler farm show site and protect President-Elect Trump. That abject failure underscored critical gaps within Secret Service operations, and I recognize that we did not meet the expectations of the American public, Congress and our protectees,” Rowe told the House panel on Thursday.
Rowe detailed several changes that the Secret Service has already made both while speaking to the committee and in a lengthier written statement, including increasing the use of drones and counter-drone technology, making structural changes within the Secret Service and increasing Trump’s detail during the final months of the campaign. Rowe also said that the Secret Service is in the process of increasing its staffing.
While most of the hearing was cordial, there were brief fiery moments between Rowe and, in particular, Republican members of the panel.
Tensions briefly boiled over between Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) and Rowe as Fallon used a photo of a 9/11 remembrance event to ask Rowe about his role at the event. Fallon accused him of putting other Secret Service agents out of their usual positions so he could be more visible at the event — an accusation Rowe denied, saying security wasn’t impacted. He is visible in a photo of the event standing near President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, JD Vance and congressional leaders.
“Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes,” Rowe yelled. “You are out of line.”
As Rowe called Fallon “out of order,” the Texas Republican yelled back: “Don’t try to bully me.”
Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), a member of the task force who also leads the Homeland Security Committee, also questioned Rowe on the culture within the Secret Service.
“Your guys showed up that day and didn’t give a shit. There was apathy and complacency, period, and that is your mission now. … This is a leadership issue, a command-climate issue, a culture issue,” Green said.
After Chair Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) said “hell” toward the tail end of the hearing, he referred back to Green’s swearing, saying, “I know we’re not supposed to use any language like that. Chairman Green, I know it’s a very emotional thing for you too.”
Despite those moments of high drama, members of the task force largely used the hearing to drill down on changes that the Secret Service has made since July 13.
Rowe specifically pointed to the communications and coordination lapses during the July 13 rally and “what is glaring to me is the failure to recognize the significance of the AGR building,” referring to the building rooftop the July 13 shooter was able to access to fire off shots at Trump.
The Secret Service is “supposed to identify hazards, risks, and then mitigate those risks effectively. … We did not do that on the 13th. Post-July 13, there was a renewed focus on that,” Rowe said.
And his decision to acknowledge the “failure” of the Secret Service’s preparation and handling of Trump’s July 13 rally earned praise from members on both sides of the panel.
“I thank you, Director Rowe and all of your talented agents, for seriously looking at what failed. And I appreciate that you used immediately in your testimony that July 13 was a failure,” Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) said.
But Congress is still expected to make additional changes to the Secret Service next year, including forthcoming proposals to remove the Secret Service and FEMA from under the Department of Homeland Security.
“I would surmise that the Department of Homeland Security has become too big. It can’t function … I’m going to be filing a bill the first day of next Congress to remove FEMA and Secret Service from Homeland Security and make them direct reports to the White House,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said.
“I think the changes you want to make, I think you’ll be able to make them quicker if you’re not within Homeland,” he added.
