Senator Carper Urges Secret Service, FBI to Learn from Mistakes After Assassination Attempt on Former President Trump

Today at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee joint hearing, “Examination of the Security Failures Leading to the Assassination Attempt on Former President Trump,” Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) heard from Ronald L. Rowe, Jr., Acting Director of the United States Secret Service, and Paul Abbate, Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

During the hearing, Senator Carper focused on how the Secret Service and FBI can learn from the tragic events of July 13^th and, where appropriate, make policy changes to prevent such security failures from happening in the future. In particular, Senator Carper emphasized the need for better communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement, and inquired about the potential changes in information sharing that would be implemented after the breakdown in communication that occurred on July 13^th.  

Senator Carper highlighted the need to ensure that the Secret Service and FBI are equipped to prevent similar security failures in the future:

“Some of us will be gathering in Chicago in just a few weeks […] to help make sure that what was adopted in that original Constitution is actually carried out faithfully. And it’s just incredibly important that those who aspire to elected office, those who take on those challenges, are protected, and their families are protected, as well as those who surround them.”

Senator Carper then emphasized the importance of accountability after the assassination attempt on former President Trump:

“I’m a Navy guy. I spent 23 years of my life in the Navy. I learned as a midshipman that when the ship runs aground at sea, the commanding officer is held responsible. When the commanding officer is awake, asleep, or at the helm, [they are] held responsible. At the end of the day, I’m not interested in a blame game, but I’m sure interested in finding out who was responsible and making sure that they account for their responsibility.”

A video of Senator Carper’s questions at today’s hearing can be found here.

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