Senator Hassan Statement on Bipartisan Secret Service Report Following Trump Assassination Attempt in July

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the following statement today in response to the Committee’s new bipartisan report on the Secret Service leadership failures surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July:

“The report on the Secret Service’s failures is damning and shows the need for a serious overhaul in how the agency does its job. There were very basic things the Secret Service failed to do, making clear how preventable this awful shooting, which cost one of our fellow Americans his life, was. As we continue to push the Secret Service to make the changes it needs to keep protectees safe, in Congress we also just passed legislation to require presidential candidates to receive the same level of protection as the President. We are also working today to pass a bipartisan funding bill with more funding for the Secret Service for the remainder of the campaign. Congress must also continue its oversight and ensure that the Secret Service engages in major reforms to prevent this type of failure from ever happening again.”

As a senior member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Hassan has pushed for answers from the Secret Service. In July, Senator Hassan pressed Acting Director Rowe at a Homeland Security hearing on improving the Secret Service’s coordination with local law enforcement and counter-drone capabilities to prevent future security failures. Yesterday, Senator Hassan helped the Senate pass the Enhanced Presidential Security Act of 2024, which requires presidential candidates to receive the same level of Secret Service protection as the President and Vice President. This bill is headed to the President’s desk. Today, the Senate is voting on bipartisan legislation that will increase funding for  the Secret Service for the remainder of the campaign season.

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