Congress

Secret Service head acknowledges ‘failure’ in House task force hearing

Published

2 years ago

December 5, 2024

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. used an hourslong appearance before House lawmakers to outline sweeping changes the agency is making after its “failure” during the attempted assassinations of Donald Trump.

The Thursday hearing is the second, and final, public meeting by a bipartisan House task force that is investigating the attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally in July, as well as a second attempt in Florida. In addition to the hearing, the panel also voted on Thursday to release its final report, detailing its findings and recommendations.

“July 13 was a failure of the Secret Service to adequately secure the Butler farm show site and protect President-Elect Trump. That abject failure underscored critical gaps within Secret Service operations, and I recognize that we did not meet the expectations of the American public, Congress and our protectees,” Rowe told the House panel on Thursday.

Rowe detailed several changes that the Secret Service has already made both while speaking to the committee and in a lengthier written statement, including increasing the use of drones and counter-drone technology, making structural changes within the Secret Service and increasing Trump’s detail during the final months of the campaign. Rowe also said that the Secret Service is in the process of increasing its staffing.

While most of the hearing was cordial, there were brief fiery moments between Rowe and, in particular, Republican members of the panel.

Tensions briefly boiled over between Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) and Rowe as Fallon used a photo of a 9/11 remembrance event to ask Rowe about his role at the event. Fallon accused him of putting other Secret Service agents out of their usual positions so he could be more visible at the event — an accusation Rowe denied, saying security wasn’t impacted. He is visible in a photo of the event standing near President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, JD Vance and congressional leaders.

“Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes,” Rowe yelled. “You are out of line.”

As Rowe called Fallon “out of order,” the Texas Republican yelled back: “Don’t try to bully me.”

Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), a member of the task force who also leads the Homeland Security Committee, also questioned Rowe on the culture within the Secret Service.

“Your guys showed up that day and didn’t give a shit. There was apathy and complacency, period, and that is your mission now. … This is a leadership issue, a command-climate issue, a culture issue,” Green said.

After Chair Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) said “hell” toward the tail end of the hearing, he referred back to Green’s swearing, saying, “I know we’re not supposed to use any language like that. Chairman Green, I know it’s a very emotional thing for you too.”

Despite those moments of high drama, members of the task force largely used the hearing to drill down on changes that the Secret Service has made since July 13.

Rowe specifically pointed to the communications and coordination lapses during the July 13 rally and “what is glaring to me is the failure to recognize the significance of the AGR building,” referring to the building rooftop the July 13 shooter was able to access to fire off shots at Trump.

The Secret Service is “supposed to identify hazards, risks, and then mitigate those risks effectively. … We did not do that on the 13th. Post-July 13, there was a renewed focus on that,” Rowe said.

And his decision to acknowledge the “failure” of the Secret Service’s preparation and handling of Trump’s July 13 rally earned praise from members on both sides of the panel.

“I thank you, Director Rowe and all of your talented agents, for seriously looking at what failed. And I appreciate that you used immediately in your testimony that July 13 was a failure,” Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) said.

But Congress is still expected to make additional changes to the Secret Service next year, including forthcoming proposals to remove the Secret Service and FEMA from under the Department of Homeland Security.

“I would surmise that the Department of Homeland Security has become too big. It can’t function … I’m going to be filing a bill the first day of next Congress to remove FEMA and Secret Service from Homeland Security and make them direct reports to the White House,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said.

“I think the changes you want to make, I think you’ll be able to make them quicker if you’re not within Homeland,” he added.

Congress

Hamilton reports $10.6M Q3 haul for Kansas Senate race

Published

28 minutes ago

October 13, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Adam Hamilton raised $10.6 million in the third quarter of 2026 across his Senate campaign and his joint fundraising committees, his campaign tells Blue Light News, a significant haul for the Kansas Democrat.

The fundraising total illustrates Democrats’ newfound bullishness about flipping a Senate seat in the deep-red state for the first time since 1932.

“This grassroots support sends a clear message: with three weeks until Election Day, Adam Hamilton is building the momentum to win,” said Hamilton campaign spokesperson Tyson Brody.

Hamilton’s third-quarter figure is nearly triple his $3.66 million second-quarter total. His campaign did not provide a current cash-on-hand total.

National Democrats began pumping money into Kansas in recent days, a sign of their growing hopes that Hamilton could win. Last week, Senate Majority PAC — Senate Democrats’ top super PAC — reserved $5 million in television ads backing Hamilton. American Bridge PAC and Lower Costs Now, a new group affiliated with former Vice President Kamala Harris’ super PAC, have spent in Kansas in recent weeks.

Republicans have also flocked to Kansas to prop up Marshall: Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate GOP’s top PAC, has spent or reserved nearly $11 million backing Marshall in the past week, according to tracking firm AdImpact.

“It took us five months to raise $15 million. [Marshall] got it in a day,” Hamilton said at a campaign event in Lawrence, Kansas on Monday. “So please help us.”

Marshall’s campaign has yet to release his third-quarter fundraising totals. As of mid-July, Marshall had over $5 million in the bank to $1.73 million for Hamilton.

Congress

Bipartisan duo maps out AI safety plan as congressional action lags

Published

2 hours ago

October 13, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

A bipartisan Senate duo is urging Trump national security officials to “bring its full capacities to bear” to stave off threats posed by artificial intelligence — sooner rather than later.

Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, and Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, who serves on the Senate Armed Services cybersecurity subcommittee, are calling for a full government response to a growing number of cybersecurity breaches.

“Recent AI security incidents should serve as a warning,” the senators wrote in a Tuesday letter to Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and White House Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios. “Advanced AI agents have escaped testing environments, bypassed safeguards, and gained unauthorized access to real-world systems owned by government agencies and private organizations.”

Spokespeople for Clayton and Kratsios did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Their letter comes as lawmakers struggle to hash out what legislation on AI safety, if any, might look like. Members are currently in recess ahead of the November elections and there’s little hope progress can be made by the year’s end.

But those lawmakers who have been engaged on the topic for years now have mapped out administrative actions the Trump administration could move on now, without waiting on Congress.

The Cantwell and Rounds priorities include: strengthening federal AI safety and security standards at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST; expanding independent testing capabilities at the Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence, Department of Energy and the national labs; and working with the tech industry to develop and deploy defensive AI tools.

Specifically, the senators wrote, new NIST standards should address the risks posed by advanced AI capabilities, including the “potential misuse by malicious actors” to conduct sophisticated cyberattacks, automate attacks at scale and agents that threaten external systems and critical infrastructure.

They also said the federal government capacity should be complemented by universities and other research organizations, as well as by private sector, third-party evaluators.

Finally, they point to ways the government could use existing programs at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to work with AI labs to help detect threats and reinforce vulnerable systems.

Congress

Bipartisan group of senators demand Trump rescind Russian diesel deal

Published

3 hours ago

October 13, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

A bipartisan group of senators urged President Donald Trump to rescind his recent diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, amid bubbling anger on Capitol Hill about Trump’s announcement.

In a letter sent to the White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators warned that the president’s deal with Russia will not “achieve just ends” or benefit Americans.

“Granting Moscow the ability to sell Russian diesel freely in global markets damages American security interests and is a betrayal of the people of Ukraine, who continue to defend themselves from Putin’s murderous, illegal war,” wrote the lawmakers, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies; it should be rescinded.”

On Sunday, a smaller group of senators called on the president to “immediately reverse course” on the plan in a statement. Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — who signed on to both — said Sunday there may be “a legitimate case for saying the president’s not following the law.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump announced in a social media post on Friday that Russia would “immediately supply” diesel fuel to global markets — including potentially the U.S. — to help relieve high prices driven, in part, by the ongoing war with Iran. Though Trump has repeatedly defended the U.S.’s actions against Iran, on Saturday he demanded an end to Ukrainian drone strikes that have crippled Russian oil refineries that he argues have caused the record-high oil prices.

The senators on Tuesday argued that the deal with Russia will have a “negligible impact” on fuel prices while providing Putin with “more fuel to finance his war machine” as Russia continues its “brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians.”

The deal with Russia is a sharp pivot from a sweeping sanctions package signed into law last month. That legislation — championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — was meant to deplete Moscow’s resources by targeting Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of oil tankers. It drew widespread bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.

Senators on Tuesday referenced the package as they condemned Putin as a “tyrant.”

“For decades, America has stood as the bastion of freedom against tyranny, and American presidents have embodied our nation’s resistance to tyrants. Putin is a tyrant,” the letter reads. “Withdraw from this agreement, rescind General License No. 135, and execute the authorities provided under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. Maintain our legacy – and the duty America holds – as leader of the free world.”

In addition to Blumenthal and Tillis, Tuesday’s letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Jack Reed (R.I.), and Chris Coons (Del.) and Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Susan Collins (Maine), Alan Armstrong (Okla.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and John Cornyn (Texas).