Washington — Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe told his workforce on Thursday that he is “deeply concerned” about the impact that an independent review panel’s findings about the July assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump will have on the agency’s morale, according to a copy of the internal message obtained by CBS News.
In an email to Secret Service employees, Rowe said that he has convened teams to discuss the findings of the bipartisan four-member panel. The report concluded that the agency suffers from “deep flaws” and called for it to undergo “fundamental reform” to carry out its mission of protecting top government officials around the world, including the sitting and former U.S. presidents.
The review, conducted at the direction of President Biden, was at times a scathing rebuke of the Secret Service and its culture. The panel’s members said there must be an overhaul of Secret Service leadership and a refocusing on its “core protective mission” to mitigate the issues it identified.
“While I believe that the intention behind the panel’s recommendations is to improve the focus and performance of the Secret Service, I am deeply concerned about the unintended impact on agency morale, especially as so many of you are working extremely long hours, spending weeks away from your families, and giving so much to this agency and its mission,” Rowe said in the message addressed to the Secret Service’s workforce.
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In the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the Secret Service boosted protection for the major presidential and vice presidential candidates. Rowe had previously warned that the agency’s “finite” resources are being stretched to their maximum.
The acting Secret Service chief also told agency employees that he has “reservations” about some of the panel’s recommendations, specifically those regarding a reorganization that would elevate the Office of Protective Operations, essentially demoting the Office of Investigations and other divisions.
In 1865, the Secret Service was formed to curb rampant counterfeiting and restore trust in the nation’s financial system. The agency moved from the Department of Treasury to the Department of Homeland Security following a post-9/11 restructuring, and its investigative arm has evolved to probe cases spanning from sophisticated ransomware attacks and identity fraud to money laundering.
But the panel noted its “extreme skepticism” that many of the Secret Service’s investigative missions “meaningfully contribute” to its protective capability and “may materially distract from it.”
“These are significant points that deserve careful consideration and discussion, particularly with those of you who are directly working within those spheres every day,” Rowe wrote.
The acting director said the Secret Service is taking the panel’s findings seriously.
The attack at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally placed the Secret Service under significant scrutiny, particularly regarding how gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to gain access to a rooftop so close to where the former president was speaking.
Trump and two others were wounded in the shooting, and one rally attendee was killed.
The independent review panel is one of several groups investigating the shooting, joining the FBI, congressional committees and a bipartisan House task force. Its four members said in a letter accompanying their report that they identified “numerous mistakes” that led to the assassination attempt, as well as “deeper system issues that must be addressed with urgency.”
“The Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission,” the members said. “Without that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again.”
