Secret Service provides update into 1st Trump assassination attempt after 2 months
The U.S. Secret Service is providing an update Friday on their investigation into the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania amid a second attempt on his life.
"After a review of the planning, event details, and coordination with partner agencies regarding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13th, our Mission Assurance investigation is nearing completion," stated in a release. "As I have said, this was a failure on the part of the United States Secret Service."
Rowe added it is important to "hold ourselves to account for the failure of July 13th and that we use the lessons learned to make sure that we do not have another mission failure like this again."
The investigation is now moving the Secret Service into the accountability phase of the process, according to Rowe.
He mentioned "a shift in paradigm" is needed in how operations are conducted and referenced the in West Palm Beach at his golf club.
On Monday, Rowe addressed the growing challenges the agency is facingthis election season as political tensions spill over into violence.
"Our folks are rising to this moment but it requires us to all have good conversations and make sure that we're getting the Secret Service where it needs to be," Rowe said. He emphasized the agency's 8,300 agents are stretched thin, particularly those assigned to protective operations."
Another issue, according to Rowe, involves the funding level not being adequate enoughto keep up with the demands of an election season full of unprecedented threats.
He called for what he describes as a "protection paradigm shift," moving from a reactive model to a readiness posture.
The Secret Service currently operates with a $3.6 billion budget, of which over $1 billion is dedicated to protective operations, according to agency budget documents obtained by .
President Joe Biden recently said the Secret Service and that Congress should move to aid the agency.
The House on Friday unanimously passed bipartisan legislation to boost Secret Service protection for Trump and Kamala Harris as well as the vice presidential nominees.The vote for the was 405-0.
