Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said on Monday that the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump was a “failure” of security, as the Secret Service confronts scrutiny over its efforts to protect government officials.
“An incident like this cannot happen,” Mr. Mayorkas told CNN, adding: “When I say something like this cannot happen, we are speaking of a failure.”
The comments, from the head of the department that oversees the Secret Service, came after President Biden called for an “independent review” of the security planning for the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., where the shooting occurred on Saturday.
The Secret Service is facing intense questions over the security perimeter at the rally, which did not include a warehouse roof where the would-be assassin fired shots at Mr. Trump. The gunman, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pa., was killed.
The Secret Service has said that the warehouse was outside its perimeter, meaning that local law enforcement had responsibility for sweeping and securing the building. But former federal law enforcement officials have said that the Secret Service — whose foremost responsibility is protecting current and former U.S. leaders — should have ensured that building was secured before the rally took place. The agency often relies on local law enforcement for security at events.
Mr. Mayorkas also rejected accusations from some Republicans that his department had denied a request by Mr. Trump’s security detail for more resources from the Secret Service. “That’s a baseless and irresponsible statement and it is one that is unequivocally false,” Mr. Mayorkas said.
Later on Monday, addressing reporters at the White House, Mr. Mayorkas offered few details of the independent review Mr. Biden had ordered but committed to it being conducted “externally of the government.” He said that since the shooting, Mr. Trump’s Secret Service protections had been “enhanced” and “adjustments” made to those of Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He said that Robert F. Kennedy, the independent presidential candidate, would be granted Secret Service protection for the first time.
He also expressed support for the agency and for its director, Kimberly Cheatle, saying: “I have 100 percent confidence in the director of the United States Secret Service. I have 100 percent confidence in the United States Secret Service.”
Privately, some agents have complained that Ms. Cheatle has not been seen prominently since the shooting. On Monday morning, Ms. Cheatle released a statement saying that the agency was coordinating with the protective details of both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden.
“Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter-sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former President Donald Trump,” Ms. Cheatle said in the statement.
She added that the agency was working with federal and local law enforcement to “understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again. The Secret Service would cooperate with any congressional investigations, she said.
On Sunday, the Secret Service sent a memo to its agents reminding them to retain text messages sent around the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement officials who dictated the memo to The New York Times. The Homeland Security’s inspector general found in 2022 that text messages sent and received by Secret Service agents around the time of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol had been erased.
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