Secret Service admits security failures as Congress acts to shore up agency

as some of the failures from the Pennsylvania rally where the former president was almost shot and killed.

Ronald Rowe, Jr., who is the acting director of the Secret Service, said the agency needs to be more self-reliant.

The House unanimously passed a bill increasing Secret Service protection for vice presidents and major presidential and vice presidential candidates. It's a direct response to the first attempt on former President Donald Trump's life in July.

But in the time it took Congress to vote on the bill, they went on break for a summer recess and another man with a high-powered rifle was arrested in another apparent assassination attempt at a Trump golf course in Florida on Sunday afternoon.

The suspect, Ryan Routh, was allegedly lying in wait to attack Trump for nearly 12 hours. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, said new whistleblower claims suggest the Secret Service was supposed to secure the golf course's perimeter, but failed to.

Shoring up the Secret Service is a rare moment of agreement among Democrats and Republicans. President Joe Biden told reporters Congress should get the agency the help they need.

The Secret Service's acting director said they needed more resources, but it's unknown right now if the Senate will take the bill the House passed and add more money to the agency's budget. They'll have to figure that out as Congress tries to iron out a short-term spending plan.