July 2, 2026, 4:47 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON – The Secret Service missed several opportunities to detect, prevent and disrupt a 2024 assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, who was then a candidate, and the agency was significantly understaffed that year, according to a pair of watchdog reports released July 2.
The findings largely echoed previous internal and external investigations of Trump being shot in the ear as a candidate in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
The Secret Service agreed with the critiques and said that it had remedied several of the problems cited in the reports from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.
“Specifically, the Secret Service took diligent and direct action to strengthen protocols, processes and policies governing protective planning and operations,” Secret Service Director Sean Curran wrote in a formal reply to the report.
The assassination attempt had already led to an overhaul of Secret Service leadership after Trump was shot and a spectator was killed at his campaign rally before a law enforcement sniper killed the gunman.
On the anniversary of the attack, the Secret Service announced that it had disciplined six staffers with suspensions ranging from 10 days to six weeks without pay. The agency also adopted additional security measures, such as surrounding the president with bullet-resistant glass at outdoor events.
Among 46 congressional recommendations to avoid a repeat tragedy, the agency reported July 10, 2025, that it had implemented 21, that 16 are in progress and another nine were addressed to Congress.
The latest inspector general’s report found the Secret Service failed:
- To detect a drone flight that the assailant, Thomas Crooks, used to view the campaign event stage due to an under-trained operator and equipment malfunction
- To warn agents surrounding Trump that Crooks had a range finder, a long gun, and had climbed onto the American Glass Research International complex’s roof because the agency hadn’t established a joint communications room with local authorities
- To secure the area outside the perimeter of the campaign event, despite the Pennsylvania State Police sharing its plan with the Secret Service that showed this area would be unsecure
- To use available resources to block line of sight from the American Glass Research International complex to Trump, despite identifying this line of sight as a concern
“The Secret Service’s overall lack of policy and processes coupled with limited intelligence sharing and poor collaboration and communication with protectee staff and state and local law enforcement set the conditions that led to missing opportunities to prevent and detect the attempted assassination,” the report said.
Another report found that the Secret Service was understaffed by an average of 21.4% in fiscal 2023 and 2024, relying instead on overtime and other agencies to meet its objectives.
Agents also reported 1.2 million overtime hours with consecutive shifts and little recuperative rest, contributing to burnout and attrition, the report said.
