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The Secret Service led a series of changes to strengthen security measures in the aftermath of the July 2024 president’s assassination attempt Donald Trump Butler, Pennsylvania, includes halting six agents to respond to the crisis.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn The suspension was announced on Wednesday. In an interview with CBS News, he said the results ranged from 10 to 42 days of unpaid leave. He further stated that the agent will return to a restricted role after the suspension, and that the agency “focuses on fixing the root cause of the problem.”
“The Secret Service is entirely responsible for Butler,” Quinn told CBS. “Butler is an operational failure and today we’re focused on ensuring that it doesn’t happen again.”
Former President Donald Trump is rushing behind the scenes by Secret Service agents after being grazed by bullets at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. (Anna Money Maker/Getty Images)
The Secret Service confirmed to Fox News that the suspension came into effect in February and that the agent was not fired.
The agency faced severe scrutiny in the aftermath of an ambush that 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight bullets at Trump during a campaign rally on July 13, 2024. Corey Comperatorea 50-year-old firefighter, father and husband attend the rally. Secret Service sniper killed the con man.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Bill Gage served as the special agent for Secret Service for former President George W. Bush. Barack ObamaHe told Fox News Digital that the assassination attempt served as a wake-up call for agents, leading to an expired change to the Secret Service.
Specifically, Gage said the incident gave the Secret Service “a real focus to agents by creating new divisions and creating new units to counter modern threats.”
Former President Donald Trump has been supported by Secret Service officials after he rang out a shootout at the Butler Farm Show in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
Former Secret Service Director Ronald Lowe spoke to lawmakers about the bipartisan House task force investigating the December 2024 assassination attempt. Immediate changes to the agency included expanding the use of drones for surveillance purposes and incorporating larger counter-drone technology to mitigate movement attacks from other drones.
Similarly, the agency has also overhauled the radio communications network and interoperability of its network with Secret Service personnel and state and local law enforcement officers. According to Gage, streamlining these radio communications is a major change. Gage said that he’s been equipped with up to five radios because the integrated system was not present.
Lowe also told lawmakers that the agency was trying to step up staffing, and that he assigned more special agents to Trump’s security details. Rowe said the agency plans to use the additional $231 million funds that Congress approved Secret Service in the StopGap Expenditure Bill to hire 1,000 new agents and executives in September 2024.
Secret Service Director Ronaldrow testifies before a Senate hearing on July 30, 2024, investigating security failures that led to an attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Other potential changes to the film include building an exact replica of the White House instead of using Tyler Perry’s White House replica at Atlanta Film Studios, as agents have historically made.
In an interview with Fox News in April with “My Views with Lara Trump,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran said the agency is coordinating with the White House to build a replica at the James J. Raleigh Training Center in Laurel, Maryland.
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Gage called it “unforgivable” for saying that no White House replicas existed yet and that training should be valued further.
“Service should really focus on training,” Gage said. “Training requires a growing mindset of training where training is considered to be as important as the shifts assigned.”
Elizabeth Pritchett and Alexis McAdams of Fox News contributed to this report.
