SS Suspends Agents On Trump’s Detail During PA Assassination Attempt
Six Secret Service agents were suspended without pay or benefits following an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024.
Matt Quinn, the agency’s deputy director, told CBS News on Wednesday that they “weren’t going to fire [their] way out of this,” but did say they are “laser focused on fixing the root cause of the problem.”
Quinn told the outlet that the agents received penalties ranging from 10 to 42 days of unpaid leave and were assigned to restricted roles with reduced responsibilities upon their return. He added that the disciplinary measures followed a federally mandated process.
The agency faced intense criticism after the security breach that enabled gunman Thomas Crooks to open fire toward the stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter, father, and husband attending the event, was killed. President Trump was grazed by a bullet, and two other men were wounded by the gunfire. Crooks was ultimately killed by a Secret Service sniper.
“Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler,” Quinn told CBS. “Butler was an operational failure and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again.” He also said the agency is focusing on the “root cause” of the operational failure and fixing “the deficiencies that put us in that situation.”
Since the Butler rally, Quinn stated that the Secret Service has deployed a new fleet of military-grade drones and mobile command posts to enhance radio communications with local law enforcement, Fox News reported.
The agency faced renewed criticism weeks later following a second assassination attempt on Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida. Although the attempt was thwarted, then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned, and the agency became the focus of multiple investigations and congressional hearings.
In December, a bipartisan House task force released a 180-page report declaring the Butler incident “preventable,” pointing to “preexisting” leadership and training deficiencies that “created an environment” conducive to security failures.
The report also noted that Secret Service did not coordinate well with local law enforcement.
Trump made some comments last week regarding the government’s investigation into one of the assassination attempts against him last year.
In response to a reporter’s query on Friday, the president said he’s “very satisfied” with the FBI’s investigation into the assassination attempt against him in Pennsylvania.
Trump made his remarks to Daily Caller White House Correspondent Reagan Reese on Thursday, putting to rest months of speculation and doubt surrounding the case. Until now, Trump had stopped short of giving the FBI a full endorsement, The Daily Caller reported.
In an earlier interview with Fox News, he admitted some parts of the case didn’t sit right. “I’m relying on my people to tell me what it is … The Secret Service, they tell me, is fine. But it’s a little hard to believe,” he said.
Back in March, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told Fox News there was no evidence of some grand conspiracy against Trump. “In some of these cases, the ‘there’ you’re looking for is not there. And I know people — I get it, I understand. It’s not there. If it was there, we would have told you,” Bongino said.
That same month, Daily Caller’s Reese pressed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about whether Trump was satisfied with Bongino’s answer.
Leavitt responded, “Well, in the lead-up to your question, you answered your own question with the president’s own words, and I’ll leave it at that.”
In May, Bongino announced investigations into some well-known cases that involve “potential public corruption.”
The cases, which appeared to be ignored during the administration of former President Joe Biden, that are getting a new look include the attempted pipe-bombing in Washington, D.C., cocaine that was found at the White House, and the leak of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that ended Roe v. Wade.
Hakeem Jeffries Panics - He Just Lost A WAVE of House Seats Intensifies
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a sharp public rebuke against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis following the governor's announcement of a special legislative session to redraw Florida’s congressional district boundaries, a strategic move expected to yield four additional seats for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives.
Governor DeSantis defended the mid-decade redistricting initiative by asserting that Florida was shortchanged in the 2020 Census relative to its explosive population growth over recent years. DeSantis emphasized that registered Republicans now hold a 1.5 million voter advantage across the Sunshine State, arguing that the existing district boundaries rely on unconstitutional racial classifications rather than geographic and demographic reality.
"The new map will more fairly reflect Florida’s current population makeup and fulfill our commitment to mid-decade adjustments."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated during his official announcement of the special session.
Representative Jeffries quickly pushed back against the plan, characterizing the proposed congressional map as a partisan overreach that could ultimately backfire on state Republicans during upcoming election cycles.
"It is a 'DeSantis Dummymander'. Florida Republicans pursuing this redistricting will end up in the exact same situation as Texas Republicans, whom I describe as being on the run. They are dummymandering their way into the minority before a single vote is cast."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared in response to the governor's redistricting strategy.
In a swift counter-response, Governor DeSantis dismissed the minority leader's warnings, inviting the New York Democrat to travel to Florida to campaign personally against the proposed boundary adjustments.
"I invite Leader Jeffries to campaign in Florida. I would be happy to host him at the governor’s mansion and take him fishing. Having Jeffries campaign across the state will only benefit Republicans because Florida voters will soundly reject the ideology being presented."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated during a subsequent media press conference.
The redistricting battle in Florida unfolds amidst a broader national struggle for control of the House of Representatives, where state-level map adjustments across the country could determine the congressional majority. The Supreme Court of the United States recently lifted a lower court injunction that had temporarily blocked a new congressional map in Texas, a decision that could potentially add five Republican seats to the lower chamber.
Conversely, California’s pending redistricting plans are projected to yield five additional seats for Democrats, while Virginia’s congressional map remains subject to ongoing legal challenges before the state Supreme Court over constitutional boundary concerns. As both major political parties adjust their national strategies, mid-decade redistricting initiatives in key states continue to reshape the legislative landscape ahead of the upcoming congressional elections.
