The acting director of the Secret Service has told the senators scrutinizing the agency’s budget that the near assassination of former President Donald Trump wasn’t caused by insufficient funding.
“While the reviews and investigations are ongoing, we do not believe the security failure of July 13, 2024 was the result of a lack of resources,” Ron Rowe wrote in a letter dated Sept. 5 and obtained Monday by CQ Roll Call.
Sens. Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut and Katie Britt of Alabama, the top Senate appropriators for homeland security, asked the Secret Service last month about its level of resources amid the 2024 election and whether insufficient funds have stymied the agency.
A Murphy aide told CQ Roll Call on Monday the two senators have received a response from Secret Service, but scrutiny of the agency’s budget continues.
“As the Committee continues to work on the FY25 appropriations bill for Homeland Security, the Members and staff will review the information provided by USSS and determine appropriate next steps to ensure the agency it is able to fulfill its mission of protecting our country’s leaders, presidential candidates, and their families,” the Murphy aide said.
The Homeland Security spending bill is the only fiscal 2025 title the Senate Appropriations Committee has not advanced.
Nothing yet has been scheduled on the bill, a Senate Appropriations Committee spokesperson said on Monday. The House passed its version of the legislation in June.
The senators asked a series of questions about the protection costs for the duration of the 2024 presidential election.
Most of the answers Secret Service provided were put in an attachment and the agency requested that the information not be disclosed publicly because they contain sensitive law enforcement information such as protective techniques and protocols.
Rowe did not shut the door on the potential for additional funds. With the elevated threats, Secret Service has had to expand its capabilities to provide protection in the current environment, Rowe wrote.
“We have taken necessary steps to meet the operational tempo of the protective mission today, but the increased mission requirements of the Secret Service necessitate additional resources to ensure that we have the tools, resources and personnel needed to meet these requirements and execute our mission going forward,” Rowe said.
Senators have been split, even within their own parties, on the idea of whether the Secret Service should receive more funding in the wake of the incident. The agency has already enjoyed larger budgets as Congress has doubled the Secret Service budget over the past 10 fiscal years.
At least five Secret Service officials who were involved in the planning to protect Trump at the July rally have been assigned, ABC News and Fox News reported last month.
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