The Secret Service “failed to implement security measures” that could have prevented the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, according to a newly released report from the Government Accountability Office.
The report — which was launched at the request of Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and released by his office on Saturday — cited numerous shortcomings by the agency charged with protecting the president and other high-profile politicians, saying there was significant communication failures and a “lack of specific and complete guidance” for agents assigned to securing the rally.
Senior-level Secret Service officials knew about a potential threat toward Trump’s life ahead of the rally, the report found. And while that threat was “not specific to the July 13 rally or gunman,” due to the agency’s “siloed practice for sharing classified threat information,” Secret Service and local law enforcement personnel who were charged with preparing and securing the rally site were “unaware of the threat.”
“Making changes to Secret Service policies to require it to proactively share threat information internally could help ensure its agents and partners will have information needed to provide effective protection,” the report recommended.
The report also identified mistakes in planning and communication, training for agents and allocating resources for protectees.
Spokespeople for the Secret Service and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Grassley said in a statement that what occurred at the rally was the result of “a series of bad decisions and bureaucratic handicaps.”
“The Secret Service’s failure on July 13th was the culmination of years of mismanagement and came after the Biden administration denied requests for enhanced security to protect President Trump,” he said in the statement. “Americans should be grateful that President Trump survived that day and was ultimately reelected to restore common sense to our country.”
The assassination attempt in Butler came during a campaign rally for then-candidate Trump on July 13, 2024. A shooter fired eight shots, with a shot grazing Trump’s ear. The shooter also struck and killed one rally attendee, Corey Comperatore, and injured two others.
A countersniper fired back and killed the shooter.
The report also indicated that many USSS officers “encountered limited service” for their cell phones at the rally, potentially preventing them from effectively communicating.
Grassley touted $1.17 billion being allocated to the Secret Service as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, saying his role as chair of the Judiciary Committee is to work with the agency to “repair what’s broken.”
“I’m hopeful this significant injection of resources will go a long way in bringing the agency up to speed,” Grassley said in the statement.
Secret Service had major ‘failures’ ahead of Butler assassination attempt
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