Latest news with #SenateCommitteeonHomelandSecurityandGovernmentalAffairs
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate Report on Trump Assassination Attempt Lists ‘Preventable Failures' by Secret Service
A Senate report on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump cited 'a cascade of preventable failures' by the Secret Service that allowed a would-be assassin to target him. The report, released Sunday by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, accused the Secret Service of denying several requests from Trump's protective detail to increase his security during the 2024 campaign. 'Agents and officers chose not to retrieve radios from local and state law enforcement, limiting coordination at a critical time,' the report said. 'Known line-of-sight vulnerabilities were identified in advance but not addressed. An inexperienced operator was tasked with managing counter-unmanned aerial systems. Personnel who were vital to mission success were not requested.' The committee found that the Secret Service 'denied or left unfulfilled at least 10 requests' from Trump's security detail asking for 'additional resources' such as counter snipers, a counter drone system, and counter assault team personnel. The Secret Service did finally grant requests for a counter sniper, which Committee Chair Sen. Rand Paul said on Sunday's Face the Nation prevented the shooter from getting off more shots. 'On that day, in Butler County, Pennsylvania, that was the first time he was allowed counter snipers,' Paul said. 'If he had not had counter snipers, that assassin would have popped up again. He did pop up again to continue firing, and that's when he was taken out.' Six members of the Secret Service received disciplinary action, such as suspension without pay, following the assassination attempt, but none have been fired. Committee members expressed disappointment at 'the lack of disciplinary action for other individuals involved,' including a Secret Service officer who 'failed to relay critical information he obtained… regarding a suspicious individual with a range finder' to the agents assigned to Trump. Had this information been conveyed, Trump's protective detail could have stopped him from taking the stage, the report said. '[The Secret Service] did not want to assess blame,' Paul said. 'They did not want to look internally, and they wanted to discount any of their actions that might have led to this. This was a cover your ass sort of moment.' Paul accused Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle of lying in her congressional testimony when she said the agency had not gotten any requests to increase Trump's security before the Butler rally. 'There was a cascade of errors,' Paul said. 'When we talked to the people in charge of security, everybody pointed a finger at someone else.' Cheatle denied the allegation, saying that when she appeared before Congress, 'the information provided to me by personnel from Headquarters and the Trump detail, to include the current agency Director, confirmed my statement that no requests for additional support had been denied to our agents at Butler.' 'Any assertion or implication that I provided misleading testimony is patently false and does a disservice to those men and women on the front lines who have been unfairly disciplined for a team, rather than individual, failure,' she said. The report did not shed light on the motives of the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. More from Rolling Stone Jordan Klepper Charts Trump's Long History With Jeffrey Epstein on 'The Daily Show' Why the Trump Administration Is About to Set Fire to 500 Tons of Emergency Food Speaker Mike Johnson Splits From Trump, Calls for Release of Epstein Files Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
West Australian
4 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
'Stunning failures' led to Trump assassination attempt
A US Senate committee found that "stunning failures" by the Secret Service enabled an assassination attempt on Donald Trump during the US presidential election a year ago. On July 13, 2024, a gunman opened fire on Trump from a roof during an election campaign event in Pennsylvania, with a bullet grazing Trump's ear. One man in the crowd died and two other spectators were badly injured in the attack. The 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot dead. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, in the report released on Sunday, detailed "a disturbing pattern of communication failures and negligence that culminated in a preventable tragedy". The committee listed a series of "unacceptable failures" by the Secret Service, including denying requests for extra staff and resources to protect Trump, as well as a lack of communication. The motive of the gunman - a registered Republican - remains unknown. "What happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, was not just a tragedy-it was a scandal," said committee chairman Rand Paul, a Republican senator representing the state of Kentucky. "The United States Secret Service failed to act on credible intelligence, failed to co-ordinate with local law enforcement and failed to prevent an attack that nearly took the life of a then-former president." Paul went on to condemn the lack of disciplinary measures following the assassination attempt. "That's unacceptable. This was not a single lapse in judgment. It was a complete breakdown of security at every level-fuelled by bureaucratic indifference, a lack of clear protocols, and a shocking refusal to act on direct threats." "We must hold individuals accountable and ensure reforms are fully implemented so this never happens again," Paul said. Kimberly Cheatle resigned as Secret Service director a day after she testified about the event before the House Oversight Committee.
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
'Stunning failures' led to Trump assassination attempt
A US Senate committee found that "stunning failures" by the Secret Service enabled an assassination attempt on Donald Trump during the US presidential election a year ago. On July 13, 2024, a gunman opened fire on Trump from a roof during an election campaign event in Pennsylvania, with a bullet grazing Trump's ear. One man in the crowd died and two other spectators were badly injured in the attack. The 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot dead. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, in the report released on Sunday, detailed "a disturbing pattern of communication failures and negligence that culminated in a preventable tragedy". The committee listed a series of "unacceptable failures" by the Secret Service, including denying requests for extra staff and resources to protect Trump, as well as a lack of communication. The motive of the gunman - a registered Republican - remains unknown. "What happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, was not just a tragedy-it was a scandal," said committee chairman Rand Paul, a Republican senator representing the state of Kentucky. "The United States Secret Service failed to act on credible intelligence, failed to co-ordinate with local law enforcement and failed to prevent an attack that nearly took the life of a then-former president." Paul went on to condemn the lack of disciplinary measures following the assassination attempt. "That's unacceptable. This was not a single lapse in judgment. It was a complete breakdown of security at every level-fuelled by bureaucratic indifference, a lack of clear protocols, and a shocking refusal to act on direct threats." "We must hold individuals accountable and ensure reforms are fully implemented so this never happens again," Paul said. Kimberly Cheatle resigned as Secret Service director a day after she testified about the event before the House Oversight Committee.
Politico
4 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Sen. Rand Paul sees ‘cultural cover-up' about Trump shooting last July
The breakdown in security led to Trump's ear being grazed by one of the bullets. Fire chief Corey Comperatore was killed, and two others were wounded before a Secret Service sniper fatally shot 20-year-old Thomas Crooks. Former President Joe Biden called for investigations into the Secret Service soon after the deadly incident, and at least one found 'deep flaws' in the organization. Meanwhile, congressional Republicans accused the former director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, of lying under oath when she denied that those requests existed, a point Paul repeated Sunday. A new report from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs found that the Secret Service had 'denied or left unfulfilled at least 10 requests' for additional resources for Trump. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in a separate interview on Sunday blamed the Biden administration for the security failure. 'The report from the [Government Accountability Office], as well as the Senate reports, indicate that there were serious failures in communications and the allocation of resources,' Cotton said on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'Under the Biden administration, the Secret Service simply was not responsive to the request not only of the Trump campaign, but the head of his security detail, Sean Curran, who is now the head of the Secret Service as well.' Paul said that regardless of party identification, the rallies posed 'extraordinary risk' for their sheer size. Such events, he added, require a lot of detailed planning and organization. But when individuals were subpoenaed, Paul said, 'no one would actually admit to being in charge of security for Butler.' 'They were not going to discipline anybody until I subpoenaed and asked what they had done, but in the end, nobody was fired,' Paul said. 'I think even the investigation by the Secret Service was inadequate. That's why we need congressional oversight.'
Newsweek
23-06-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
'Mass Layoff' Provision in Trump Bill Sparks Alarm: 'Deeply Concerning'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A provision in the Senate budget bill would allow for millions of dollars to go directly toward President Donald Trump and the administration's ability to lay off federal workers without the consent of Congress. It is a move that Ben Olinsky, senior vice president of Structural Reform and Governance at the Center for American Progress, called "deeply, deeply concerning." The provision, written by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, would give $100 million to the Office of Budget Management (OMB), according to Government Executive. The office is run by Project 2025 author Russ Vought, a proponent of mass government layoffs, which are a central tenet of Project 2025. President Donald Trump talks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on June 18, 2025, in Washington. President Donald Trump talks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on June 18, 2025, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP Photo Olinsky referenced the lawsuits by federal employees fired by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts, telling Newsweek: "[This bill is] exactly the kind of thing that the president has been trying to do, I would say, illegally, as he seeks to shut down departments or agencies, or limit [agencies] to a handful of staff down from 1000s and do large mass layoffs and other kinds of cuts to entire functions or programs." Those in favor of the bill have said: "Any president should have the ability to clear the waste he or she has identified without obstruction." Newsweek contacted Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican and chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, via email for comment. Why It Matters Many of the people affected by mass federal layoffs initiated by DOGE at the start of Trump's second term are now in court as they were made without congressional approval. The provision would allow for federal employees to be fired with little to no legal recourse. Olinsky told Newsweek that it would lead to current and future distrust in the government by federal workers. Federal work used to be a lesser paid but significantly more stable line of work. If the provision passes, federal work will be seen as a much less realistic plan for long-term employment and will result in bright and capable Americans choosing to work in the private sector. What To Know The provision of the bill, which is the Senate's version of Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" passed by the House, appears in a section about government spending and reorganization by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. It would revitalize a provision last used in 1984 that allows the president to reorganize the federal government. However, Olinsky explained to Newsweek that it differs from the 1984 provision in one significant way. "Those previous reorganization authorities that were granted to the president still had a role for Congress," he said. Congress then had a certain amount of time to either approve or disapprove of the plan, and that determined whether the president's plan could go into effect. "In the current reorganization language, it says that most of the statute that's currently on the books, or that was on the books through 1984, will not apply," Olinsky said. "And it basically says the president can put together a reorganization plan, and as long as it's making government smaller, it is deemed approved. "So, there would be no further review by Congress, no further action. It would simply be automatic. It is approved by this language without [Congress] having seen it first. That is dramatically concerning to me." Senator Rand Paul, chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, talks with reporters in the Russell building on June 17, 2025, in Washington. Senator Rand Paul, chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, talks with reporters in the Russell building on June 17, 2025, in Washington. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images Olinsky added: "The executive actions that the Trump administration has been taking are absolutely taking Project 2025, the most extreme parts of it, and putting them into effect. And, actually going much further in many cases." Project 2025 says that the president should be able to " employees." It speaks in broad terms about federal employees, whom its authors see as part of the "federal bureaucracy." "Federal employees are often ideologically aligned—not with the majority of the American people, but with one another, posing a profound problem for republican government, a government "of, by, and for" the people," Project 2025 says. Olinsky said that people fired as a result of DOGE cuts could continue their suits in court, but anyone fired under the new provision would not have a case against the government. He said the only means of legal recourse for fired employees would be if mass firings reduced the government's ability to monitor enforcement functions. For example, if the White House fired every member of an agency that oversaw labor standards, someone could potentially sue and say their firing undermined government enforcement work. Other critics of this move say it directly undermines Congress' ability to govern, as government spending is one of Congress' primary responsibilities. Olinsky said there is a chance the Senate parliamentarian rules that the provision defies the Byrd Rule, which says that all reconciliation packages have to focus on budget issues and cannot stray into other parts of government. Olinsky believes the provision violates the Byrd Rule, but whether enough members of the Senate and/or the parliamentarian believe the same is "an open question," he said. What People Are Saying Ben Olinsky, senior vice president of Structural Reform and Governance at the Center for American Progress, told Newsweek: "This [bill] would basically give [Trump] carte blanche to refashion the entire federal government in ways that he likes. "Now, even under this language, it basically means you have to make the government smaller, not larger. But there's a lot of playing you could do to assist with [Trump's] priorities and stifle functions of government that he just doesn't like. "This should be deeply, deeply concerning to anyone." The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: "This provision would reestablish the authority for a president to reorganize government as long as these plans do not result in an increase in federal agencies and the plan does not result in an increase in federal spending." What Happens Next The House does not have a similar rule, so if the provision remains in the Senate version of the bill, it cannot be removed through a parliamentarian complaint to the Bird Rule by the House.
