US Secret Service beefs up Biden and Trump’s protection after shooting

Separately, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said the agency’s failure to protect Trump from being wounded Saturday at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was “unacceptable” and “something that shouldn’t happen again.”

While Cheatle said she didn’t plan to resign, she did say there would be “immediate changes” to protocols including expanding “tactical support” for Trump during an interview with ABC News. 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who oversees the Secret Service, said earlier Monday that he also planned to bolster the details of the president and Vice President Kamala Harris while extending protection to JD Vance, Trump’s newly selected running mate.

“Adjustments have been made to the former president’s detail, to the current president’s detail, as well as to the vice president’s detail,” the Homeland Security chief told reporters. Mayorkas declined to elaborate specifically on what changes had taken place, citing security concerns.

Biden also acknowledged the changes, saying it could impact his – and other candidates’ – ability to campaign.

“I like to meet people. I like to walk out, shake hands, move look at people in the eye, see what they’re thinking,” Biden said. “It’s really curtailed that ability, on my part, and everybody’s part.”

The Saturday shooting has thrust the embattled Secret Service into a full-blown crisis. The agency had already faced criticism for security lapses, agent misconduct and low staff morale before the attempted killing of Trump shocked the nation. 

Mayorkas said the Secret Service would consider the “threat environment” while planning security for outdoor political events in the future. The secretary said he retains “100% confidence” in the Secret Service and its leadership, and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden shared that sentiment.

Lawmakers have announced investigations into the attack amid questions about how the shooter was allowed to gain access to a roof with a clear line of sight to Trump, as well as the Secret Service’s protection plan for the former president. The agency on Sunday denied allegations from Trump allies it rejected the Republican candidate’s request for more security. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigations said the lone-wolf attack was carried out from an open rooftop by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who wounded Trump’s right ear, killed a bystander and critically wounded two others before being shot dead by a Secret Service sniper at the rally site.

Fueling scrutiny, some attendees’ claims that they tried to alert authorities about a man crawling a roof with a rifle minutes before the shooting. Others have questioned why the rooftop, a little more than a football field’s length away from where Trump was speaking, hadn’t been secured. The incident has also focused attention on how well local, state and federal law enforcement agencies communicated before the shooting and as it unfolded.

Mayorkas said earlier Monday on CNN that the shooting represented a security failure. He vowed a thorough, independent review “to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” 

The administration also announced it would be extending protection for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican, said he plans to hold a hearing on the shooting and would call Cheatle to testify. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, controlled by Democrats, also plans to conduct an investigation.

Saturday’s shooting was the most serious assassination attempt of a president or major party presidential candidate since 1981, when a gunman seriously wounded President Ronald Reagan. 

But over the last decade, the Secret Service’s reputation has been marred.

In 2012, agents were implicated in a prostitution scandal in Colombia while they were preparing for a visit by then-President Barack Obama. An armed intruder jumped over a White House fence in 2014 and was able to enter the building before being stopped. In 2017, another fence jumper walked around the grounds for 17 minutes while Trump was inside the residence. The agency also faced questions about its response to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

First Published: Jul 16 2024 | 8:24 AM IST