Secret Service whistleblower alleges acting Director Rowe cut resources for threat assessment team

Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday claimed that a Secret Service whistleblower alleged that acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe ordered cuts to the agency's threat assessment team, which contributed to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Trump was wounded in a shooting at a Pennsylvania rally last month, which have raised concerns about the Secret Service's ability to protect their targets.

Hawley said the whistleblower told him a threat assessment team was not assigned or on site of the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, and did not conduct an evaluation of the site beforehand. He also claimed the whistleblower said some of those Secret Service agents were warned of security problems "for months."

"The whistleblower claims that if personnel from [the Secret Service Counter Surveillance Division] had been present at the rally, the gunman would have been handcuffed in the parking lot after being spotted with a rangefinder," Hawley wrote in a letter to Rowe. "The whistleblower also alleges retaliation against those within the Secret Service who expressed concern about security at President Trump's events." 

The whistleblower asserted that concerns were raised after a Trump event at a golf course last year, when the Secret Service relied heavily on local law enforcement help, which was not "adequate" for security needs, because they were not trained for the event. 

Hawley requested more information about Rowe's decision to cut resources for threat assessment teams, the amount of Secret Service personnel that were assigned to the rally, and the amount of Secret Service agents that have raised concerns about security practices within the agency and are being punished for it.

The senator requested the responses by next Aug. 8.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.