Acting Director Rowe: Secret Service 'Not Waiting to Act'

The Secret Service is "not waiting to act" and has already "significantly improved our readiness, operational, and organizational communications and implemented enhanced protective operations for the former president and other protectees," Acting Director Ronald Rowe said Thursday.

He was responding to an independent panel's assessment that the agency needs "fundamental reform" and that "another Butler can and will happen again" without major changes in how candidates are protected.

The review faulted the Secret Service for poor communications that day and failing to secure the building where the gunman took his shots on former President Donald Trump. It also found more systemic issues at the agency such as a failure to understand the unique risks facing Trump and a culture of doing "more with less."

Rowe said the Secret Service is "making changes to better integrate with our state and local law enforcement partners and augmenting our protection with support from the U.S. Department of Defense and other agencies."

"Additionally, 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," he added.

"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. We acknowledge that July 13 did not occur because of a lack of resources; however, our enhanced protective model implemented after July 13 requires additional people, equipment, and asset capabilities. 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."

One rallygoer was killed and two others wounded when Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto the roof of a nearby building and opened fire as Trump spoke. The former president was wounded in the ear before being rushed off the stage by Secret Service agents. That shooting, along with another incident in Florida when Trump was golfing — a gunman there never got a line of site on the president or fired a shot — has led to a crisis in confidence in the agency.

The report by a panel of four former law enforcement officials from national and state government follows investigations by members of Congress, the agency's own investigators and by Homeland Security's oversight body.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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