The congressional task force probing the assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump released its final report this week.
Among the highlights of task force's report is a call for reforms to the United States Secret Service (USSS). Recommendations include scaling back protection for foreign leaders during peak election season and exploring the possibility of moving the agency out of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The Report
The bipartisan task force released the 180-page report on Tuesday, offering one of the most comprehensive examinations to date of the July assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally and a second attempt in Florida two months later.
Similar to other investigations and reports, the task force sharply criticized the agency responsible for safeguarding America's top democratic leaders.
"The events of July 13, 2024, were tragic and preventable, and the litany of related security failures are unacceptable," the authors wrote in the report. "The Secret Service's zero fail mission allows no margin for error, let alone for the many errors described in this report."
The report's authors highlighted that the number of individuals under the agency's protection has "greatly expanded," while presidential campaigns have become longer and increasingly demanding.
The agency is also responsible for protecting foreign dignitaries during the U.N. General Assembly, held each September when heads of state and government descend on New York. The report noted that the timing coincides with the "height of campaign season," further straining the agency's already stretched resources."
"Congress, DHS and the USSS should jointly consider the protective role the USSS plays for foreign leaders and consider whether such duties can be transferred or abrogated in order to focus on the USSS's primary duty: to protect the President and other critical U.S. leaders," the report said.
Trump Assassination Attempts
In the July shooting, a gunman fired from the roof of a nearby building, injuring Trump in the ear, killing one rally attendee and wounding two others. The shooter was fatally shot by a countersniper.
In a separate assassination attempt in September, a gunman waited for hours at Trump's Florida golf course. The attack was foiled when a Secret Service agent spotted a firearm protruding from the bushes.
Report Notes Staffing Problem
The task force found that Thomas Crooks, the gunman in Butler, Pennsylvania, exploited security gaps caused by insufficient staffing and resources. The panel pointed out that the Secret Service, already stretched thin by the demands of a presidential campaign, was tasked with protecting two high-profile individuals that day—Trump and first lady Jill Biden, who was attending a nearby event.
The task force highlighted a lack of resources at the Trump rally, noting that a counter-surveillance unit should have been deployed in Butler. Had one been in place, the report suggests, the shooter might have been identified earlier.
"From interviews with special agents on the ground, it appears that the main factor in the decision to not request (the counter-surveillance unit) was an assumption that the request would be denied due to the protectee's status as a former President at the time of the event," the report said.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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