As we’ve been reporting, acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe has been testifying on Capitol Hill Tuesday as lawmakers investigate the catastrophic security failure that allowed a would-assassin to shoot Donald Trump and come within millimeters of ending the former president’s life.
It was already a tough day for Rowe, and it got even worse when Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) got his turn to ask questions. The exchange descended into a shouting match as Cruz eviscerated the acting director for his failed decisions—including his refusal to provide more security despite the Trump team repeatedly requesting it.
“I believe that the Secret Service leadership made a political decision to deny these requests. And I think the Biden administration has been suffused with partisan politics,” Cruz said. “Did the same person who denied the request for additional security to President Trump also repeatedly deny the requests for security to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose father was murdered by an assassin and whose uncle was murdered by an assassin? Did the same person make that decision?”
“Senator, what I will tell you is that Secret Service agents are not political,” Rowe responded.
Watch:
I am holding Secret Service leadership accountable for their catastrophic security failure. pic.twitter.com/Fu2NAqQAb4
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 30, 2024
Cruz wasn’t buying it. He grew increasingly exasperated as Rowe continued to duck the questions. Things got really heated toward the end of this lengthy exchange:
Cruz: By the way, is it true that on the day of the Butler event, that Secret Service transferred agents from President Trump to the First Lady?
Rowe: No, sir, that’s not true.
Cruz: That’s been widely reported.
Rowe: It’s not true. There was one airport agent that actually went on the manpower request for the Trump detail. They handled the arrival at the airport for the First Lady.
Cruz: What is the rally? What was the relative size of the Trump detail compared to the detail that is assigned to the president or the First lady?
Rowe: Senator, the former president travels with a full shift, just like the president.
Cruz: What’s the, so, the exact same size. Is that your testimony, that President Trump had the same size detail that President [Joe Biden] has?
Rowe: On the day of in Butler, the agents surrounding him, it is the same number of agents surrounding the president today. There is a difference between a sitting president who also not only —
Cruz: Hold on, you’re using “president” in a way that is not clear. Is it your testimony that in Butler, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump had the same number of agents protecting him that Joe Biden has at a comparable event?
Rowe: I’m telling you the shift, the close protection shifts surrounding —
Cruz: That’s a yes or no.
It’s at this point, at the 6:34 mark of the above clip, that Cruz’s frustration grows and he really lets loose on Rowe:
Rowe: That’s what you asked me, Senator, and I’m trying to answer it.
Cruz: You are not answering it! Is it the same number of agents or not?
Rowe: Senator, there is a difference between the sitting president of the United States —
Cruz: What’s the difference?
Rowe: The difference?
Cruz: 2X, 3X, 5X, 10X?
Rowe: National command authority to launch a nuclear strike, sir, there are other assets —
Cruz: How many more agents?
Rowe: That travel with the president that —
Cruz: Sir! sir!
Rowe: The former president will not get —
Cruz: Well, you’re refusing to answer the —
Rowe: Number of secret service agents protecting him —
Cruz: Stop interrupting! Stop interrupting me!
Rowe: Go ahead, Senator.
Cruz: You are refusing to answer clear and direct questions. I am asking the relative difference in the number of agents between those assigned to Donald Trump and those assigned to Joe Biden. I’m not asking why you assigned more to Joe Biden! I’m asking is the difference, is it 2X, is it 3X, is it 5X, is it 10X?
Rowe: Senator, I will get you that number so you can see it with your own eyes.
Rough day for Rowe: Josh Hawley Wrecks Acting Secret Service Director Over Agency’s Trump Assassination Attempt Posturing
REPORT: Acting Secret Service Director ‘Played Key Role’ in Denying Extra Resources for Trump Rallies
Acting Secret Service Director ‘Ashamed’ Roof Unsecured in Trump Assassination Attempt—’Cannot Defend’
The more that is learned about the Secret Service’s failures to prevent the attack, the worse they look. The Senators are right to grill those in charge because this should never have happened, and we need to make whatever fixes are necessary to ensure it does not occur again.
