Show-Me State Times

In a joint hearing with members of the Senate Judiciary and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) confronted United States Secret Service (USSS) Acting Director Ronald Rowe, demanding answers for the lack of accountability in the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

During his questioning, Senator Hawley asked Acting Director Rowe for the names of those in charge of multiple security efforts on the day the former President was shot. Acting Director Rowe declined to identify them, stating they "are still operational, still doing investigations."

“Isn’t the fact that a former President was shot, that a good American is dead, that other Americans were critically wounded, isn’t that enough mission failure for you to say that [they] should probably be fired?” Senator Hawley asked. Acting Director Rowe continued to deny identification of those in charge and emphasized refraining from making any judgments while the investigation continues.

Senator Hawley continued, “What more do you need to investigate to know that there were critical enough failures that some individuals ought to be held accountable?”

The Senator has been a leading voice demanding accountability for the USSS' botched security rollout on July 13. He has revealed whistleblower allegations ranging from the absence of drone usage to law enforcement officers abandoning their posts.

Senator Hawley traveled to Butler, Pa.,—the site of the assassination attempt against President Trump—before now-former USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle visited it herself.