Senate lawmakers are set to question the acting director of the Secret Service regarding law enforcement failures leading up to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The acting director, Ronald Rowe, took over last week after the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle following a contentious House hearing where she faced criticism for communication breakdowns prior to the July 13 shooting.
Rowe will be appearing alongside FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate at a joint hearing of the Senate committees on the Judiciary and Homeland Security. The FBI recently disclosed new details from their investigation, revealing that the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, had researched mass shootings, power plants, improvised explosive devices, and the assassination attempt on the Slovakian prime minister.
The FBI also announced that Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has agreed to be interviewed as a crime victim. It was revealed that Trump sustained a minor injury from a bullet or fragment during the incident. Trump is scheduled to be interviewed by FBI agents on Thursday.
Lawmakers are expected to focus their inquiries on Rowe during the hearing, seeking explanations on how Crooks managed to get close to Trump. Crooks fired eight shots at Trump from an AR-style rifle after climbing onto a building approximately 147 yards away from where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania. One individual in the crowd was killed, and two others were injured before Crooks was neutralized by a Secret Service counter-sniper.
During her previous testimony, Cheatle admitted that the Secret Service had failed in its duty to protect Trump and described the incident as the agency's most significant operational failure in decades. She pledged to investigate the matter thoroughly to prevent any recurrence. Cheatle disclosed that the Secret Service had received multiple reports of a suspicious individual before the shooting and had identified the rooftop as a potential security vulnerability days before the rally.
Trump, in a recent interview, commended the Secret Service agents for their protection but criticized the lack of coordination between agencies and the delay in responding to the threat. He expressed gratitude for the sniper's swift action but remarked that an earlier response could have averted the danger.
