By Gabriella Borter and Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Secret Service’s acting director will appear on Thursday before a House of Representatives panel investigating security lapses involved in two failed assassination attempts of President-elect Donald Trump.
Acting Director Ronald Rowe will testify as the task force, of seven Republicans and six Democrats, prepares to issue a final report on its probe.
“It is essential that we recognize the gravity of our failure on July 13, 2024. I personally carry the weight of knowing that we almost lost a protectee and that our failure cost a father and husband his life,” Rowe said in prepared testimony ahead of the hearing.
“This entire incident represents the failure to meet the expectations and responsibilities of the Secret Service.”
The Secret Service has faced questions over its staffing levels and communication capabilities after Trump twice survived attempts on his life during this year’s presidential campaign.
A gunman fired eight shots during a Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July, wounding Trump in the ear and killing another attendee. The gunman was shot and killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.
Two months later, a man with a gun holed himself up near a Trump-owned golf course in Florida with what prosecutors have said was an intent to kill the then-Republican candidate while he golfed.
The suspect, Ryan Routh, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges and is awaiting trial.
Rowe has said he was “ashamed” of security lapses surrounding the Pennsylvania shooting. He defended the agency’s response in the Florida incident, commending an agent who spotted the gunman before he could open fire.
Rowe, who took over after his predecessor resigned following the Pennsylvania shooting, has vowed to hold accountable agents responsible for security lapses and said during the campaign that Trump’s protection was equal to the current president, Joe Biden.
The rally shooting shook confidence in the Secret Service, damaging its elite “zero fail” reputation for protecting presidents and high-level dignitaries to the United States.
The Secret Service has largely been exempt from Trump’s criticisms of federal law enforcement and vows to overhaul government, but the agency’s response to the Pennsylvania shooting drew bipartisan condemnation.
An interim report from the House task force, released in October, found a lack of planning between the Secret Service and local law enforcement ahead of the July rally.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Stephen Coates)
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