House Task Force Looking into Trump Assassination Attempt Ends Work, Approves Report

The House Task Force looking into the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on President-elect Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania wrapped up its work. 

The Task Force, made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats, held its final hearing on December 5, 2024, where it quizzed Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, and approved its final report on a voice vote. The report has not yet been made public. 

Task Force Chairman Mike Kelly (R-PA) said the task force identified numerous failures in the run up to the Butler incident, including errors and communication errors. 

“Communications and intelligence failures occurred in numerous ways, ranging from … agents failing to speak up about problems they observed, training issues, inadequate resources and not having the ability to communicate with one another in the moment of the crisis,” said Rep. Kelly, who mentioned the lack of planning between the Secret Service and local law enforcement as one of the most critical issues. 

“If you don’t have effective command and control and communications, nothing else works,” said Task Force Ranking Member Jason Crow (D-CO). “You had the world’s most elite law enforcement agency relying on handwritten notes and emails and texts on their personal phone to communicate with law enforcement partners. That is unacceptable.” 

Rep. Crow also stated he hopes the public understands that the task force was “serious and bipartisan” and that the report was compiled “in a thorough and comprehensive way.”

The task force reviewed about 20,000 pages of documents, held transcribed interviews with 46 federal, state, and local officials, and participated in more than a dozen briefings with U.S. agencies. 

Acting Director’s Testimony

At the hearing, Acting Director Rowe took responsibility for the failures on July 13th. 

"This entire incident represents the failure to meet the expectations and responsibilities of the Secret Service,” said Acting Director Rowe. 

Rowe also touted changes such as improved training and accountability, expanded unmanned aerial vehicle capability, and restructuring the Office of Investigations to the Office of Field Operations. 

Rowe also noted changes to help the Secret Service workforce. “I have also prioritized mental health and wellness programs for our personnel, understanding that the stress and pressures of the job can impact decision-making and overall performance. This week we onboarded a Chief Wellness Officer as part of what will be a long-term commitment to improving the Secret Service,” said Acting Director Rowe.

He also added the agency is on track to hire an additional 650 special agents and 350 uniformed officers. The agency is also using recruitment and retention incentives and is working with organizations such as the U.S. Army to bring talented personnel into the service.