The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general said the agency failed to warn officials surrounding Trump of the risks or secure the perimeter at the rally.
Secret Service responds to shooting, quickly takes Donald Trump away
Former President Donald Trump was quickly escorted away and the Secret Service sprang into action.
WASHINGTON – The Secret Service missed several opportunities to detect, thwart and thwart an assassination attempt on then-candidate President Donald Trump in 2024, leaving the agency severely understaffed that year, according to two surveillance reports released July 2.
The findings were similar to previous internal and external polls in which President Trump was shot in the ear as a candidate on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The Secret Service agreed with the criticism and said it had improved on some of the problems cited in the report from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.
“Thanks to significant institutional reforms and investments in technology, personnel, and protection efforts, the U.S. Secret Intelligence Service is a stronger and more capable agency today than it was in 2024,” the agency said in a statement.
The assassination attempt had already led to a review of Secret Service leadership after Trump was shot, a crowd at a campaign rally was killed, and a law enforcement sniper killed the gunman.
On the anniversary of the incident, the Secret Service announced that six staff members had been suspended without pay for a period ranging from 10 days to six weeks. The agency also took additional safety measures, including surrounding the president with bulletproof glass at outdoor events.
Of the 46 recommendations to Congress to avoid a repeat of the tragedy, the agency reported on July 10, 2025, that 21 have been implemented, 16 are in progress, and nine more have been submitted to Congress.
The latest Inspector General’s report found that the Secret Service failed.
- To detect a drone flight used by perpetrator Thomas Crooks to view the stage of a campaign event due to a poorly trained operator and equipment failure.
- Crooks, armed with a range finder and a long gun, climbed onto the roof of the American Glass Research International complex to warn agents surrounding President Trump, as authorities had not set up a joint communications room with local authorities.
- to secure an area outside the boundaries of a campaign event, even though Pennsylvania State Police shared plans with the Secret Service that indicated the area was unsafe.
- Having identified the line of sight to Mr. Trump from the American Glass Research International complex as a matter of concern, use available resources to block that line of sight to Mr. Trump.
“The Secret Service’s overall lack of policies and processes, along with limited information sharing and inadequate coordination and communication with protected staff and state and local law enforcement, created a situation where opportunities to prevent and detect assassination attempts were missed,” the report said.
A separate report found the Secret Service was understaffed by an average of 21.4% in fiscal years 2023 and 2024, relying instead on overtime and other agencies to meet its goals.
Agencies also reported 1.2 million hours of overtime, with continuous shifts and little restorative breaks, contributing to burnout and attrition, according to the report.
The Secret Service said in a statement that the agency is prioritizing retention and development of its workforce while streamlining its hiring process. The average time for applicants to serve is currently 326 days for special agents and 256 days for police officers, according to the department.
“The Secret Service has also streamlined its hiring process by reducing outdated bureaucratic processes, allowing us to hire the best candidates faster,” the statement said.
