The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill on Sept. 20 that would mandate that the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) to provide the same level of protection to the president and presidential candidates.
The Enhanced Presidential Security Act, introduced by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Ritchie Torres (D-NY), was approved by the chamber with 405 voting in favor and zero voting against. It would require the USSS director to review the policies in place for the protection of the president, vice president and major candidates. The report will then be submitted to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
The move came at the heels of the USSS admitting communication failures when a man fired shots at Trump during his rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, leaving one attendee dead and two others injured. Trump survived the assassination attempt, but his ear was grazed by one of the shooter's bullets.
USSS Acting Director Ronald Rowe said during a Sept. 20 press conference that the agency failed to give clear guidance to local law enforcement and suffered communication failures in July, adding that lessons learned from the experience will help propel the service from a reactive to a proactive posture.
The review also found that the USSS was stationed in a room that was separate from the Butler County Emergency Services command post, and some local officers did not know that there were two separate communication centers. "Officers were operating under a mis-impression that the Secret Service was directly receiving their radio transmissions," the agency said in a statement.
Rowe added that communication gaps included the use of multiple radio channels by officers and agents and an overreliance on mobile devices, which resulted in some officials remaining unaware of key information. (Related: Body-cam footage reveals cop airing frustration over Secret Service not deploying people to guard the warehouse where Trump's assassin fired, despite early warning.)
Biden: USSS needs more help
Two months after the first assassination attempt, Trump was once again targeted on Sept. 15 while he was enjoying some valued time off at a golf course.
According to reports, no bullets were fired by the suspect because the Secret Service were in a state of "hypervigilance." One agent spotted a gun muzzle poking out from bushes and immediately rushed in to apprehend the suspect.
Following the most recent attack on the Republican presidential nominee, Biden said that the Secret Service "needs more help," encouraging the Congress to act to provide it with more resources.
"One thing I want to make clear is that the Service needs more help. And I think Congress should respond to their need," Biden said as he departed the White House for a day trip to Philadelphia.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) seemed to agree with the president's suggestion. "Congress has a responsibility to ensure the Secret Service and all law enforcement have the resources they need to do their jobs," he said on the Senate floor. "So as we continue the appropriations process, if the Secret Service needs more resources, we are prepared to provide it for them, possibly in the upcoming funding agreement."
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was skeptical that funding would be the best solution. "I think it's a matter of manpower allocation. We don't want to just throw more money at a broken system," Johnson pointed out.
Visit Trump.news to read more updates on the investigations regarding the assassination attempts against former president.
Watch the video below where a former Secret Service agent warns of potential "copycats" of Trump assassination attempts.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.
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Man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump faces 20 years in prison.
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