Senator Josh Hawley revealed Thursday that the Secret Service “repeatedly denied” an offer from a local law enforcement agency to deploy a drone for enhanced security at the July 13 Trump rally.
Hawley stated that the Secret Service only allowed the use of drone technology after President Trump was already shot.
“It is hard to understand why USSS would decline to use drones when they were offered,” Hawley wrote in a letter demanding answers from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who oversees the Secret Service.
During the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump was grazed in the ear, one attendee was killed, and two others were critically wounded. The level of protection for Trump and whether any security requests were denied has become a contentious issue as lawmakers scrutinize the Secret Service.
The shooter managed to climb to a rooftop with a clear line of sight to Trump and fired at least eight rounds before being killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper. The FBI confirmed that the shooter had flown his own drone over the rally site approximately two hours before Trump took the stage.
The Secret Service has not publicly disclosed whether it employed counter-drone technology or used its own drones. In testimony to Congress on Monday, Kimberly Cheatle, before resigning as director of the agency, insisted they had “overwatch” of the site.
In a statement earlier Thursday, the agency said new acting Director Ronald Rowe provided a closed-door briefing to senators and will testify publicly on Capitol Hill next week.
“Acting Director Rowe reiterated the Secret Service’s commitment to transparency and ensuring complete cooperation with Congress, the FBI, and other relevant investigations about the assassination attempt. Acting Director Rowe further told Senate members that he was committed to restoring the American people’s trust in the United States Secret Service and will provide more information to the public as appropriate,” the agency said in a statement.
Senator Hawley insisted that Secretary Mayorkas must testify to Congress himself. Additionally, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa disclosed this week that the Secret Service had assigned a drone operator to the rally.
Read Hawley’s letter to Mayorkas here.
