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No one fired despite critical missteps that nearly cost Trump his life, Senate finds
A damning new Senate report faults the U.S. Secret Service for a series of security breakdowns that led to the near-fatal shooting of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
The report, released by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, concludes that the Secret Service demonstrated a “disturbing pattern of denials, mismanagement, and missed warning signs” that allowed a 20-year-old gunman to climb onto a nearby rooftop and open fire on Trump and his supporters.
“This was not a single lapse in judgment,” said Paul. “It was a complete breakdown of security at every level—fueled by bureaucratic indifference, a lack of clear protocols, and a shocking refusal to act on direct threats.”
The investigation, which spanned a full year, involved 17 transcribed interviews with Secret Service officials and a review of over 75,000 pages of documents from multiple law enforcement agencies. The findings paint a grim picture of communication failures, denied security requests, and a slow response to warnings that ultimately led to a deadly attack.
On the day of the shooting, the assailant managed to access the roof of the American Glass Research building overlooking the rally site. Civilians had alerted the Secret Service about the suspicious individual at least 25 minutes before the first shot was fired. Yet, the gunman remained undetected for 45 minutes and fired eight rounds, striking four people. Trump was injured, two others were wounded, and former fire chief Corey Comperatore was killed shielding his family.
The report reveals that Secret Service officials denied multiple requests for additional assets and personnel to bolster security at the Butler event. It also accuses former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle of providing false testimony to Congress, claiming no such requests had been rejected.
Despite the scale of the failure, the report notes that no agents involved have been fired. Only six personnel received formal disciplinary action—and that, the committee says, was only made public after Sen. Paul issued a subpoena.
Additionally, the report highlights poor coordination between the Secret Service and state and local law enforcement, vague responsibilities assigned to agents in advance roles, and critical intelligence that was never relayed to Trump’s protective detail—information that could have prevented him from stepping onto the stage.
“The Secret Service failed to act on credible intelligence, failed to coordinate with law enforcement, and failed to protect a former president,” Paul said. “And to this day, no one has truly been held accountable.”
In response, current Secret Service Director Sean Curran issued a statement saying the agency had reviewed the Senate’s findings and “will continue working cooperatively with the committee as we move forward with our mission.”
Curran noted that following the attempted assassination, the agency launched an internal review and implemented “substantive reforms” to address the security lapses. A one-year update released by the Secret Service last week detailed several of those reforms and included a summary of disciplinary actions and recommendations from Congress.
Still, Paul and other lawmakers insist that deeper accountability is needed—and soon.
“The American people deserve answers,” Paul said. “And President Trump deserved better.”
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