The House Task Force investigating the assassination attempts on President-elect Trump’s life has released its final report on Tuesday, detailing ‘preexisting conditions and leadership failures’ that led to the deadly campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July.
While the bipartisan panel was given ample information on that shooting, the report suggested requests for documents on the second attempt on Trump’s life – this one at his Palm Beach golf course in September – were seemingly stonewalled.
‘The Task Force notes that as of the date of publication of this report, [the Department of Homeland Security], [U.S. Secret Service], FBI, and [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] have not produced any documents responsive to the Task Force’s requests regarding the preparation for, events of, and response to the second assassination attempt that occurred on September 15,’ the report said.
Lawmakers found ‘critical vulnerabilities’ in the security of that site. The report said Secret Service agents identified the golf course’s outer perimeter as ‘a favorable position for potential snipers.’
The report also called on the Secret Service to review its protocols for golf courses – which would be a significant policy overhaul, given Trump and past presidents’ historic penchant for golfing.
Other recommendations in the 180-page report include calling on Congress to consider taking the Secret Service out from under the purview of DHS.
‘The current structure potentially weakens USSS, a small but critically important agency, in advocating for its budget and other priorities inside a much larger entity,’ the report said.
‘The failure in [Butler, Pennsylvania] was far from the first significant USSS failure in recent history, and it is fair to question whether USSS should continue to be housed within DHS.’
The Secret Service was under the Treasury Department until 2003, when it was moved to the newly formed DHS, but the task force advocated for it to be its own structure entirely.
‘A fresh look at whether USSS might benefit from the status of an independent agency, with more freedom to make budget requests and advocate for itself, would be a healthy discussion for former USSS leaders to have with Congress,’ the report said.
The Task Force also recommended conserving resources by limiting who gets Secret Service protection.
‘The number of individuals being protected has greatly expanded, a resource demand which becomes further taxed during the longer and more intensive modern presidential campaign seasons,’ the report said.
Foreign dignitaries’ Secret Service protection particularly strains resources during the United Nations General Assembly, the report said. That takes place in September, the same month of the second attempt on Trump’s life.
‘As a result, Congress, DHS, and the USSS should jointly consider the protective role the USSS plays for foreign leaders and consider whether such duties can be transferred or abrogated in order to focus on the USSS’s primary duty: to protect the President and other critical U.S. leaders,’ the report said.
The House voted unanimously to form the committee earlier this year. The Secret Service was barraged with scrutiny after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania from just outside the rally perimeter.
Trump was injured along with two others, and one attendee was killed.
Later in September, USSS agents opened fire on a 58-year-old man who had a rifle aimed at Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, golf course where the president-elect was out for the day.
The task force contrasted both events in its report, however, and cast the latter incident in a better light.
‘The various failures in planning, execution, and leadership on and before July 13, 2024, and the preexisting conditions that undermined the effectiveness of the human and material assets deployed that day, coalesced to create an environment in which the former President — and everyone at the campaign event — were exposed to grave danger,’ the report said.
‘Conversely, the events that transpired on September 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida, demonstrated how properly executed protective measures can foil an attempted assassination.’
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told Fox News Digital in response to the report, ‘The U.S. Secret Service appreciates the diligence and dedication displayed by Chairman Kelly, Ranking Member Crow and the distinguished members of the House Task Force as they investigated and identified the factors that contributed to the assassination attempt of President-elect Donald Trump and the Secret Service’s failures during the protective advance leading up to July 13th in Butler, Pennsylvania.’
‘The findings of the House Task Force align with our internal Mission Assurance Inquiry. Today’s report reinforces our resolve to bring change to the Secret Service. We continue to take action to acquire new technologies, strengthen training, develop our personnel, and seek resources to fortify the Secret Service,’ Guglielmi said.
Fox News Digital also reached out to DHS for comment.
