Secret Service Pledges Reform After Panel’s Critical Report on Trump Assassination Attempt

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he is helped off the stage after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

The U.S. Secret Service has vowed to implement sweeping reforms in response to a critical report from an independent review panel on the security failures around the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, at a rally in Pennsylvania, in which a bullet grazed Trump’s ear and one attendee was killed.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas both issued statements following the Oct. 17 release of the report, emphasizing the agency’s commitment to addressing the security lapses that led to its failure to prevent the assassination attempt, while outlining a plan for the Secret Service’s future operations.

The July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, has brought to light a series of systemic weaknesses in the Secret Service’s ability to safeguard high-profile individuals.

The panel’s 52-page report, commissioned by Mayorkas shortly after the attempt on Trump’s life, highlighted critical lapses in communication, coordination with local law enforcement, and technological readiness. It criticized the Secret Service for what it described as a “do more with less” culture and a “lack of critical thinking,” calling for a fundamental transformation in how the agency operates.

“We respect the work of the Independent Review Panel and will carefully examine the report and recommendations released today,” Rowe said in a statement on Oct. 17. “We are developing a comprehensive plan aimed at driving a fundamental transformation within the Secret Service to ensure we are appropriately configured to execute our dual integrated mission of protection and complex investigations.”

In his statement, Mayorkas said that the Secret Service would “benefit greatly” from the recommendations in the report, which he said would be “fully” considered and would help drive fundamental change at the agency.

“We will fully consider the Panel’s recommendations and are taking the actions needed to advance the Secret Service’s protection mission,” he said. “These actions will be responsive not only to the security failures that led to the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt, but, importantly, to what the Independent Review Panel describes as systemic and foundational issues that underlie those failures.”

The panel’s recommendations include both immediate and long-term reforms aimed at overhauling the Secret Service. They include physically integrating communications between the Secret Service and local law enforcement at large events, improving coordination by co-locating personnel, and unifying electronic incident tracking.

Another key recommendation is the deployment of overhead surveillance, such as drones and video-based systems, to provide enhanced monitoring at outdoor venues, which was absent during the Butler rally. The panel also highlighted the need for line-of-sight risk mitigation, which would require the Secret Service to identify and address potential threats from elevated positions.

Finally, the report called for a broader cultural shift within the Secret Service, while also advocating for new leadership from outside the agency to bring a fresh perspective to its operations. The leadership change would help break the entrenched complacency that the panel says has hampered the performance of the Secret Service in recent years.

In his statement responding to the report, Rowe announced that the Secret Service would develop a comprehensive plan to drive a fundamental transformation within the agency, ensuring it can carry out its mandate more effectively.

“This plan focuses on increasing and retaining the agency’s personnel, modernizing our technology, and building a training plan that is sustainable now and into the future,” he said.

Rowe said that following the attempt on Trump’s life, the Secret Service has implemented an “enhanced protective model” that requires the deployment of additional staff, equipment, and asset capabilities, although he acknowledged that the agency’s failure to prevent the July 13 assassination attempt wasn’t a result of a lack of resources.

“The agency is also working with Congress to increase the agency’s budget so that we can make this paradigm shift a reality and ensure that our people have the resources they need to successfully carry out the mission." 

In its report, the independent panel said that reforms are essential to prevent similar security failures and ensure the future effectiveness of the Secret Service.