Secret Service ‘complacent’ before Donald Trump shooting, independent panel recommends overhaul

WASHINGTON – The Secret Service has become bureaucratic and complacent and an overhaul is needed, according to an independent review released Thursday of the first assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, was shot in the ear July 13 during a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A spectator was killed before a Secret Service sniper killed the gunman.

The Secret Service acknowledged failing in its mission to protect the former president and acting Director Ronald Rowe vowed reforms. A Senate report also blasted the agency’s performance.

President Joe Biden’s administration launched the independent review that criticized the Secret Service recommended a number of changes.

“The Secret Service has become bureaucratic, complacent and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved,” the report said. “Without that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again.”

Recommendations included overhead surveillance for outdoor events with presidential candidates, a situation report whenever a protected person arrives at an event and at least one Secret Service officer stationed with each state and local law enforcement agency at the event’s communications hub.

The panel said its recommendations should be implemented by March 2025 and evaluated by October 2025, the panel recommended.

The Secret Service’s own review of the shooting revealed the agency’s officers weren’t using the same radios as local authorities the day of the shooting so that warnings about a suspicious man with a range finder were delayed. The review also revealed an agent assigned to monitor drones at the event lacked the equipment and expertise to monitor unmanned aircraft such as a drone the gunman flew at the site hours before the shooting.

Two months after the Pennsylvania shooting, a gunman hid undetected for nearly 12 hours on Sept. 15 at a Trump golf course in Florida before a Secret Service agent chased him away while Trump was playing golf. The suspect was later arrested and has been charged with attempted assassination.

The Secret Service said before Trump returned to Butler for another rally that the agency made “comprehensive changes and enhancements to our communications capabilities, resourcing and protective operations.” For example, the president is protected by bullet-resistant shields at outdoor events and agents now work side-by-side with local law enforcement officers at events.