






















































Trump assassination attempt: Panel says Secret Service needs ‘fundamental reform’ | AP News














































































































































































































































































































































































































































Menu







Menu




World




U.S.




Politics




Sports




Entertainment




Business




Science




Fact Check




Oddities




Be Well




Newsletters




Newsletters



AP News Alerts
Keep your pulse on the news with breaking news alerts from The AP.




The Morning Wire
Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.




Ground Game
Exclusive insights and key stories from the world of politics.




Beyond the Story
Executive Editor Julie Pace brings you behind the scenes of the AP newsroom.




AP Entertainment Wire
Get AP's first personalized newsletter delivering you entertainment news twice a week.




AP Top 25 Women's Basketball Poll Alerts
Women's college basketball poll alerts and updates.



See All Newsletters








Photography 




AP Investigations




Climate




SECTIONS

Indigenous peoples and climate
Climate Questions
Climate Migration 
India Focus



TOP STORIES


Many Senegalese seek to tap the power of animals by wearing them. Lions pay a heavy price


Brazil to join OPEC+, group of major oil-exporting nations


How better water systems can help a city survive the next firestorm










Health




TOP STORIES


Vatican authorities say the pope now has pneumonia in both lungs. How worrying is that?


Trump has signed an executive order on IVF. Here's what you should know about the procedure


Layoffs hit many at CDC lab program that was started to address previous failures


More adults are wondering if they have autism. Here are tips to seek a diagnosis


This Valentine's Day, consider what all types of love bring to your life


How to deal with fresh health insurance deductibles in the new year










Tech




SECTIONS

Artificial Intelligence
Social Media



TOP STORIES


Apple unveils a souped-up and more expensive version of its lowest priced iPhone


Google agrees to pay Italy $340 million to settle a tax evasion investigation


Troubled electric vehicle maker Nikola files for bankruptcy protection










Lifestyle




SECTIONS

Food & Recipes
Gardening
Homes
Travel
Fashion
Pets



TOP STORIES


Apple unveils a souped-up and more expensive version of its lowest priced iPhone


No pain, no gain? Hardly. This year's fitness buzzword is 'recovery'


Learn a few laundry secrets from the baseball pros — the clubhouse staffers who wash MLB uniforms










Religion




TOP STORIES


Middle East latest: Netanyahu appoints an adviser with Trump ties to lead ceasefire talks


Italy PM Meloni visits pope in hospital, says he's in good spirits as tests show slight improvement


Thousands of Palestinian families flee West Bank homes as Israel confronts militants




Newsletters



World of Faithtest
Comprehensive global coverage of how religion shapes our world.



See All Newsletters








Español




TOP STORIES


Administración de Trump califica de organizaciones terroristas a ocho cárteles latinoamericanos


Trump advierte a Zelenskyy que debe negociar rápidamente el fin de la guerra con Rusia


Asesor de Zelenskyy dice que EEUU renunció a  papel en la guerra, fortaleciendo a Rusia.


El papa Francisco tiene neumonía en ambos pulmones. ¿Qué tan preocupante es?


Esposa de víctima de choque aéreo en DC presenta demanda de $250 millones contra Aviación y Ejército










Quizzes




Press Releases




My Account





...







World







Mideast Wars
    



Russia-Ukraine War
    



Español
        






China
    



Asia Pacific
    



Latin America
    



Europe
    



Africa
    



Australia
    



Middle East
    



Global Elections
        









U.S.





Politics







Trump cabinet confirmation tracker
        






White House
    



Congress
    



U.S. Supreme Court
    



Trump’s presidential promises
        






2025 Election Calendar
        









Sports







NBA
    



NHL
    



Men’s College Basketball
    



Men’s Top 25
    



Women’s College Basketball
    



Women’s Top 25
    



MLB
    



NFL
    



Auto Racing
    



Soccer
    






Entertainment







Movie Reviews
    



What to Stream
    



Television
    



Book Reviews
    



Music
    



Celebrity Interviews
    






Business







Inflation
    



Financial Markets
    



Financial Wellness
    



Technology
    






Science







Space
    



Animals
    



The Ancient World
    



Climate
    



Medicine
    






Fact Check





Oddities





Be Well





Newsletters





Photography 







2024 YEAR END PHOTOS
    



Photo Essays
    



Photography 
    






AP Investigations





Climate







Indigenous peoples and climate




Climate Questions
    



Climate Migration 
    



India Focus
    






Health





Tech







Artificial Intelligence
    



Social Media
    






Lifestyle







Food & Recipes
    



Gardening
    



Homes
    



Travel
    



Fashion
    



Pets
    






Religion





Español





Quizzes





Press Releases





My Account
















                Search Query
            





Submit Search








            Show Search
        















Submit Search










World











Mideast Wars
    



Russia-Ukraine War
    



Español
        






China
    



Asia Pacific
    



Latin America
    



Europe
    



Africa
    



Australia
    



Middle East
    



Global Elections
        









SECTIONS

Mideast Wars
Russia-Ukraine War
Español
China
Asia Pacific
Latin America
Europe
Africa











U.S.








Politics











Trump cabinet confirmation tracker
        






White House
    



Congress
    



U.S. Supreme Court
    



Trump’s presidential promises
        






2025 Election Calendar
        









SECTIONS

Trump cabinet confirmation tracker
White House
Congress
U.S. Supreme Court
Trump’s presidential promises
2025 Election Calendar











Sports











NBA
    



NHL
    



Men’s College Basketball
    



Men’s Top 25
    



Women’s College Basketball
    



Women’s Top 25
    



MLB
    



NFL
    



Auto Racing
    



Soccer
    






SECTIONS

NBA
NHL
Men’s College Basketball
Men’s Top 25
Women’s College Basketball
Women’s Top 25
MLB
NFL











Entertainment











Movie Reviews
    



What to Stream
    



Television
    



Book Reviews
    



Music
    



Celebrity Interviews
    






SECTIONS

Movie Reviews
What to Stream
Television
Book Reviews
Music
Celebrity Interviews











Business











Inflation
    



Financial Markets
    



Financial Wellness
    



Technology
    






SECTIONS

Inflation
Financial Markets
Financial Wellness
Technology











Science











Space
    



Animals
    



The Ancient World
    



Climate
    



Medicine
    






SECTIONS

Space
Animals
The Ancient World
Climate
Medicine











Fact Check








Oddities








Be Well








Newsletters









Newsletters



AP News Alerts
Keep your pulse on the news with breaking news alerts from The AP.




The Morning Wire
Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.




Ground Game
Exclusive insights and key stories from the world of politics.




Beyond the Story
Executive Editor Julie Pace brings you behind the scenes of the AP newsroom.




AP Entertainment Wire
Get AP's first personalized newsletter delivering you entertainment news twice a week.




AP Top 25 Women's Basketball Poll Alerts
Women's college basketball poll alerts and updates.



See All Newsletters











Photography 











2024 YEAR END PHOTOS
    



Photo Essays
    



Photography 
    






SECTIONS

2024 YEAR END PHOTOS
Photo Essays
Photography 











AP Investigations








Climate











Indigenous peoples and climate




Climate Questions
    



Climate Migration 
    



India Focus
    






SECTIONS

Indigenous peoples and climate
Climate Questions
Climate Migration 
India Focus



TOP STORIES


Many Senegalese seek to tap the power of animals by wearing them. Lions pay a heavy price


Brazil to join OPEC+, group of major oil-exporting nations


How better water systems can help a city survive the next firestorm












Health









TOP STORIES


Vatican authorities say the pope now has pneumonia in both lungs. How worrying is that?


Trump has signed an executive order on IVF. Here's what you should know about the procedure


Layoffs hit many at CDC lab program that was started to address previous failures


More adults are wondering if they have autism. Here are tips to seek a diagnosis


This Valentine's Day, consider what all types of love bring to your life


How to deal with fresh health insurance deductibles in the new year












Tech











Artificial Intelligence
    



Social Media
    






SECTIONS

Artificial Intelligence
Social Media



TOP STORIES


Apple unveils a souped-up and more expensive version of its lowest priced iPhone


Google agrees to pay Italy $340 million to settle a tax evasion investigation


Troubled electric vehicle maker Nikola files for bankruptcy protection












Lifestyle











Food & Recipes
    



Gardening
    



Homes
    



Travel
    



Fashion
    



Pets
    






SECTIONS

Food & Recipes
Gardening
Homes
Travel
Fashion
Pets



TOP STORIES


Apple unveils a souped-up and more expensive version of its lowest priced iPhone


No pain, no gain? Hardly. This year's fitness buzzword is 'recovery'


Learn a few laundry secrets from the baseball pros — the clubhouse staffers who wash MLB uniforms












Religion









TOP STORIES


Middle East latest: Netanyahu appoints an adviser with Trump ties to lead ceasefire talks


Italy PM Meloni visits pope in hospital, says he's in good spirits as tests show slight improvement


Thousands of Palestinian families flee West Bank homes as Israel confronts militants




Newsletters



World of Faithtest
Comprehensive global coverage of how religion shapes our world.



See All Newsletters










Español









TOP STORIES


Administración de Trump califica de organizaciones terroristas a ocho cárteles latinoamericanos


Trump advierte a Zelenskyy que debe negociar rápidamente el fin de la guerra con Rusia


Asesor de Zelenskyy dice que EEUU renunció a  papel en la guerra, fortaleciendo a Rusia.


El papa Francisco tiene neumonía en ambos pulmones. ¿Qué tan preocupante es?


Esposa de víctima de choque aéreo en DC presenta demanda de $250 millones contra Aviación y Ejército












Quizzes








Press Releases








My Account


















The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.















        twitter
    









        instagram
    









        facebook
    










The Associated Press




ap.org
        






Careers
        






Advertise with us
        






Contact Us
    



Accessibility Statement
    



Terms of Use
    



Privacy Policy
    


Cookie Settings



Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
        






Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information
        






CA Notice of Collection
        













More From AP News











About
        






AP News Values and Principles
        






AP’s Role in Elections
        






AP Leads
        






AP Definitive Source Blog
        






AP Images Spotlight Blog
        






AP Stylebook
        









SECTIONS

About
AP News Values and Principles
AP’s Role in Elections
AP Leads
AP Definitive Source Blog
AP Images Spotlight Blog
AP Stylebook













Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.





















Politics
Panel looking into Trump assassination attempt says Secret Service needs ‘fundamental reform’





Panel looking into Trump assassination attempt says Secret Service needs ‘fundamental reform’
























1 of 2 | 
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Read More


























2 of 2 | 
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump reacts following an assassination attempt at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Read More


















            By 
            REBECCA SANTANA



 




Share



                    Share
                    









Copy
Link copied









        Email
    


 





Facebook






X








Reddit





LinkedIn





Pinterest






Flipboard








        Print
    















WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent panel investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally says the Secret Service needs fundamental reform” and new leadership, and that “another Butler can and will happen again” without major changes in how candidates are protected.The review faulted the Secret Service for poor communications that day and failing to secure the building where the gunman took his shots. It also found more systemic issues at the agency such as a failure to understand the unique risks facing Trump and a culture of doing “more with less.” The 52-page report issued Thursday recommended bringing in new, outside leadership and refocusing on the Secret Service’s protective mission.“The Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission,” the authors wrote Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the Homeland Security Department, the Secret Service’s parent agency, in a letter accompanying their report. “Without that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again.”

One rallygoer was killed and two others wounded when Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto the roof of a nearby building and opened fire as Trump spoke. The former president was wounded in the ear before being rushed off the stage by Secret Service agents. That shooting, along with another incident in Florida when Trump was golfing — a gunman there never got a line of site on the president or fired a shot — has led to a crisis in confidence in the agency.







More election coverage 



















Arizona’s Democratic governor faces uphill battle as Republicans control Legislature





 





















Biden says he’s leaving Trump with a ‘strong hand to play’ in world conflicts





 





















West Virginia’s conservative shift could sharpen under its new governor





 










The report by a panel of four former law enforcement officials from national and state government follows investigations by members of Congress, the agency’s own investigators and by Homeland Security’s oversight body.












The Secret Service said it was making changes.“We have already significantly improved our readiness, operational and organizational communications and implemented enhanced protective operations for the former president and other protectees,” the agency’s acting director Ronald Rowe said in a statement Thursday. The agency said it was looking at how to retain personnel, modernize technology and bolster training, and was working with Congress to increase funding.

Mayorkas said in a statement that his department is taking action in response to “the security failures’’ at the rally and what the review panel ”describes as systemic and foundational issues that underlie those failures.”A look at the report’s key findings and recommendations:Poor communications, no plan for key buildingsThe panel echoed previous reports that have zeroed in on the failure to secure the building near the rally that had a clear line of site to where Trump was speaking and the multiple communications problems that hindered the ability of the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement to talk to each other.The panel faulted the planning between Secret Service and the local law enforcement, and said the Secret Service failed to ask about what was being done to secure the building: “Relying on a general understanding that ‘the locals have that area covered’ is simply not good enough and, in fact, at Butler this attitude contributed to the security failure.”

The review questioned why there were two separate command posts at the rally and found other communications problems, including the need to switch radio channels because radio traffic from agents protecting first lady Jill Biden at an event in Pittsburgh was coming across the channels of agents who were with Trump. Also, law enforcement personnel on the ground used a “chaotic mixture” of radio, cell phone, text, and e-mail. And it was unclear who had ultimate command that day. 

Cultural issues within the agencyThe report painted a picture of an agency struggling to think critically about how it carries out its mission, especially when it comes to protecting Trump.The panel said agency personnel operated under the assumption that they effectively had to “do more with less.” The report said the additional security measures taken to protect Trump after the Butler shooting should have been taken before. “To be clear, the Panel did not identify any nefarious or malicious intent behind this phenomenon, but rather an overreliance on assigning personnel based on categories (former, candidate, nominee) instead of an individualized assessment of risk,” the panel wrote. The panel also noted the “back-and-forth” between the Trump security detail and Secret Service headquarters regarding how many people were needed to protect him.The panel also faulted some of the senior-level staff who were involved in the rally for what they called a “lack of ownership.” In one example, the panel said a senior agent on site who was tasked with coordinating communications didn’t walk around the rally site ahead of time and did not brief the state police counterpart before the rally about how communications would be managed.

It cited the relative inexperience of two specific agents who played a role in security for the July 13 rally. One was the site agent from Trump’s detail whose job it was to coordinate with the Pittsburgh field office on security planning for the rally. The panel said the agent graduated from the Secret Service academy in 2020, and had only been on the Trump detail since 2023. Before the Butler rally the agent had only done “minimal previous site advance work or site security planning.”Another agent assigned to operate a drone detection system had only used the technology at two prior events.What did the panel recommend? The panel recommended new leadership, specifically from outside the agency, but the report did not say whether anyone should be fired. Other recommendations included: having a unified command post at all large events; overhead surveillance for all outdoor events; security plans that specify how to mitigate line of site concerns out to 1,000 yards and who’s in charge; and more training on how to get protectees out of dangerous scenarios. The panel said the agency needs renewed focus on its core protective mission while expressing skepticism that the agency should continue with the investigations it currently conducts. While the Secret Service is well known for what it does to protect presidents and other dignitaries, it also investigates financial crimes. “In the Panel’s opinion, it is simply unacceptable for the Service to have anything less than a paramount focus on its protective mission, particularly while that protective mission function is presently suboptimal,” the report said. Panel members included Janet Napolitano, homeland security secretary under President Barack Obama; Mark Filip, deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush; David Mitchell, who served in numerous state and local law enforcement roles in Maryland and Delaware; and Frances Fragos Townsend, Bush’s assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism.But this is not the first time that an independent review has found fault with the agency. After a man jumped the White House fence and evaded Secret Service to run into the building, a panel a decade ago looked into how the agency protects the White House. It recommended some of the same changes.__This story has corrected to reflect that Thomas Crooks’ middle name is Matthew, not Michael.
















REBECCA SANTANA


                Santana covers the Department of Homeland Security for The Associated Press. She has extensive experience reporting in such places as Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
            








        twitter
    








        mailto
    
























                    Most read
                























A deeper look at the talks between US and Russian officials as Trump suggests Ukraine is to blame










White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president










Russia and US agree to work toward ending Ukraine war in a remarkable diplomatic shift










Trump administration gives schools a deadline to end DEI programs or risk losing federal money










A$AP Rocky dives into Rihanna’s arms as not guilty verdict is read at felony assault trial





























The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.












The Associated Press




ap.org
        






Careers
        






Advertise with us
        






Contact Us
    



Accessibility Statement
    



Terms of Use
    



Privacy Policy
    


Cookie Settings



Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
        






Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information
        






CA Notice of Collection
        










More From AP News




About
        






AP News Values and Principles
        






AP’s Role in Elections
        






AP Leads
        






AP Definitive Source Blog
        






AP Images Spotlight Blog
        






AP Stylebook
        

















Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.









        twitter
    









        instagram
    









        facebook
    














They should have begun reforming the SS after they wiped all of their phones post Jan 6th.