Senator Josh Hawley has slammed Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Lowe, who complained that insiders at the agency were being “unfairly persecuted” over the agency’s handling of the assassination attempt on presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The tense debate began with Hawley, a Missouri Republican, demanding accountability for the assassination attempt on Trump and the numerous failures that led to the deaths and injuries of three other campaign attendees in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The senator noted that one of the Secret Service members was leaving the AGR building, and the gunman was camped out just outside the security perimeter, shooting him eight times and killing him.
“Senator, you’re focusing on one particular agent, and I’d like to know exactly what the decision-making process was,” Lowe said.
A determined Hawley said he was focused on seeing that someone was held accountable for the agency that allowed the shooting, but publicly wondered why Rowe didn’t “relieve everyone who made a bad judgment call from their job.”
Then the atmosphere got a little hotter.
RELATED: Bodycam Footage Raises Questions About Secret Service’s Awareness of Trump Assassination Threat: ‘It’s Him’
Secret Service Director Under Attack
Senator Hawley began pursuing several individuals who made fatal decisions on the day the former President was nearly assassinated.
He questioned whether they had been fired. Surprisingly, they had not even been disciplined so far.
“Is there more to investigate to determine whether there was a failure so serious that any individual should be held accountable?” asked a surprised Holly.
“I don’t want to jump to conclusions,” Lowe said, adding that nearly three weeks have passed since the tragic incident.
“Sir, this could have been the Texas School Book Depository. I haven’t been able to sleep for the past 17 days because of it. And neither have you,” he continued, practically screaming.
“And I will tell you, Senator, I will not be quick to judge, I will hold people accountable and honest, and I will not be quick to judge and unfairly persecute people.”
Holly condemned the remarks.
“Are you being unfairly persecuted?” he shouted. “We have dead people!”
🚨 Totally humiliating 🚨
Josh Hawley has exposed the disgraced US Secret Service chief after he forced Trump to admit he got away with it after being shot in the head.
“The former president was shot! Fire someone! I can’t believe you can say you’re ‘being persecuted’… pic.twitter.com/cjdGYvuY0h
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 30, 2024
Related: Secret Service Watched Trump Shooter Hours Before He Shot First, But Missed Him When He Reached for Rifle: Report
Ted Cruz steps up to the plate
Acting Director Ronald Lowe also told Holley that the Secret Service is “very transparent and proactive.”
“Your agency has been neither transparent nor proactive, so I suggest you leave that issue alone,” the senator responded.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) also chastised Lowe for the agency’s failure to stop the assassination attempt and its response to it, suggesting politics influenced the Secret Service.
“Secret Service agents are not political,” Lowe argued.
🔥Wow! Ted Cruz’s scorched earth🔥
Ted Cruz asked the Secret Service director a direct question that left him visibly panicked.
“Did the person who denied President Trump’s request for additional security also repeatedly deny Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s request for security?” pic.twitter.com/KWdXIRJf8g
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 30, 2024
Cruz cited reports that the Secret Service had rejected requests from Trump’s team for increased security and asked to be informed of the difference in team size between the current president and the current president.
“What’s the difference? Double, triple, five, ten?” the Texas Republican repeatedly asked, at one point shouting at Lowe, “Don’t interrupt me!”
Lowe has only been on the job for a few days, but things are off to a bad start.
