In a shocking turn of events, the U.S. Secret Service has come under intense scrutiny following a near-fatal assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
On July 13, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight rounds at Trump, striking him in the ear and killing one rallygoer while injuring two others. The chaos that unfolded has since raised critical questions about the competence of the Secret Service under the Biden-Harris administration, sparking an avalanche of public outrage.
The fallout has been swift and severe. Congressional hearings have grilled Secret Service leaders over glaring security lapses that allowed Crooks to position himself undetected on a nearby rooftop, firing from the American Glass Research building. Investigations have revealed deep systemic failures, exposing the agency’s complacency and bureaucratic mismanagement.
Once considered an elite unit responsible for the safety of the nation’s leaders, the Secret Service has now become synonymous with negligence and incompetence. And in the face of mounting criticism, the Biden administration is struggling to manage the political fallout.
From Daily Wire:
An independent panel tasked with investigating the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Thursday said a similar attempt “can and will happen again” without serious reform at the Secret Service.
The Damning Report: “Another Butler Can and Will Happen”
A recent independent report, commissioned by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, has sent shockwaves through Washington. The 35-page document, which scrutinizes the events surrounding the attempt on Trump’s life, paints a picture of an agency in crisis.
The independent panel, made up of former Bush and Obama administration officials, detailed several blunders made by the Secret Service on that fateful day.
Most troubling, the report concludes that without urgent reform, a similar attack “can and will happen again.” The panel called for sweeping changes, particularly at the leadership level, citing a lack of “critical thinking” and failure to adapt to evolving threats. The Secret Service, once a beacon of efficiency and vigilance, now appears bogged down in bureaucratic inertia.
Shockingly, even after the shooting, many of the personnel involved in securing the rally failed to engage in meaningful self-reflection. The report condemned this lack of accountability, warning that the agency’s unwillingness to learn from its mistakes could lead to future tragedies.
An Unforgivable Catalog of Errors
The report outlines a series of stunning failures that led to the assassination attempt, underscoring the Secret Service’s unpreparedness. One of the most glaring errors was the failure to secure the roof of the American Glass Research building, from which Crooks fired at Trump. This oversight, combined with major communication breakdowns, left Trump and rallygoers exposed to unimaginable danger.
Investigators discovered that senior agents tasked with securing the event lacked even a basic understanding of the rally’s layout, including the location of potential sniper threats like the AGR building.
The planning failures were described as “astounding” and have now become the subject of national debate, with conservative lawmakers demanding heads roll.
The panel’s report further noted that despite the assassination attempt’s high-profile nature, the Secret Service’s response was dismally inadequate. Many in the agency showed little initiative in reflecting on what went wrong, with some failing to identify any corrective actions at all.
“Complacency has become the norm,” the panel wrote, urging the Biden administration to bring in new leadership from outside the Secret Service to shake up its stagnant culture.
Calls for Reform Intensify
The revelations have led to intensified calls for reform from Republicans, with many citing this as yet another example of incompetence under the Biden administration. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security has already issued a separate report echoing many of the same concerns, labeling the Secret Service’s handling of the Butler rally as “disgraceful.”
Donald Trump himself returned to Butler earlier this month, where he paid tribute to Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old rallygoer who tragically lost his life, and to those injured during the attack. His return underscored the ongoing emotional toll on the community and further spotlighted the administration’s failure to protect its leaders.
The Road Ahead: Can the Secret Service Be Fixed?
While the report leaves no doubt about the Secret Service’s need for reform, the road ahead is far from clear. The call for new leadership at the top is already creating friction within the agency, and bringing in outsiders may face significant resistance from the entrenched bureaucratic culture.
The real question remains: can the Secret Service be fixed before another catastrophic failure occurs? Conservatives argue that under the Biden-Harris administration, the answer is far from reassuring.
The agency, once revered for its professionalism, now stands as a symbol of everything wrong with federal government mismanagement. The clock is ticking, and without immediate and decisive action, “another Butler” is more than just a warning—it’s a guarantee.
Key Takeaways:
- The Secret Service failed to prevent an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, sparking national outrage and congressional investigations.
- An independent report warns that without reform, another such attack is likely, pointing to severe incompetence within the agency.
- Conservatives are pushing for drastic leadership changes, blaming the Biden-Harris administration for allowing the Secret Service to become dangerously complacent.
Source: Daily Wire
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