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Secret Service chief warns of Trump shooting report’s “impact on agency morale” in message to staff
Washington — Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe told his workforce on Thursday that he is “deeply concerned” about the impact that an independent review panel’s findings about the July assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump will have on the agency’s morale, according to a copy of the internal message obtained by CBS News.
In an email to Secret Service employees, Rowe said that he has convened teams to discuss the findings of the bipartisan four-member panel. The report concluded that the agency suffers from “deep flaws” and called for it to undergo “fundamental reform” to carry out its mission of protecting top government officials around the world, including the sitting and former U.S. presidents.
The review, conducted at the direction of President Biden, was at times a scathing rebuke of the Secret Service and its culture. The panel’s members said there must be an overhaul of Secret Service leadership and a refocusing on its “core protective mission” to mitigate the issues it identified.
“While I believe that the intention behind the panel’s recommendations is to improve the focus and performance of the Secret Service, I am deeply concerned about the unintended impact on agency morale, especially as so many of you are working extremely long hours, spending weeks away from your families, and giving so much to this agency and its mission,” Rowe said in the message addressed to the Secret Service’s workforce.
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In the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the Secret Service boosted protection for the major presidential and vice presidential candidates. Rowe had previously warned that the agency’s “finite” resources are being stretched to their maximum.
The acting Secret Service chief also told agency employees that he has “reservations” about some of the panel’s recommendations, specifically those regarding a reorganization that would elevate the Office of Protective Operations, essentially demoting the Office of Investigations and other divisions.
In 1865, the Secret Service was formed to curb rampant counterfeiting and restore trust in the nation’s financial system. The agency moved from the Department of Treasury to the Department of Homeland Security following a post-9/11 restructuring, and its investigative arm has evolved to probe cases spanning from sophisticated ransomware attacks and identity fraud to money laundering.
But the panel noted its “extreme skepticism” that many of the Secret Service’s investigative missions “meaningfully contribute” to its protective capability and “may materially distract from it.”
“These are significant points that deserve careful consideration and discussion, particularly with those of you who are directly working within those spheres every day,” Rowe wrote.
The acting director said the Secret Service is taking the panel’s findings seriously.
The attack at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally placed the Secret Service under significant scrutiny, particularly regarding how gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to gain access to a rooftop so close to where the former president was speaking.
Trump and two others were wounded in the shooting, and one rally attendee was killed.
The independent review panel is one of several groups investigating the shooting, joining the FBI, congressional committees and a bipartisan House task force. Its four members said in a letter accompanying their report that they identified “numerous mistakes” that led to the assassination attempt, as well as “deeper system issues that must be addressed with urgency.”
“The Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission,” the members said. “Without that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again.”
President Biden has given the OK to lift restrictions that will allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Sunday. The move is a significant change to U.S. policy in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The easing of restrictions would allow Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to hit targets inside Russia. The move also comes as some 10,000 North Korean troops were sent to Kursk near Ukraine’s northern border to help Russian forces retake territory.
The White House National Security Council declined to comment to CBS News.
The U.S. decision could help Ukraine at a moment when Russian forces appear to be making gains and could put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when and if peace talks happen.
It also comes as Mr. Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and ending the war as soon as possible.
In an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would like to end the war with Russia next year through “diplomatic means.”
He said he is certain that the war will end “sooner” than it otherwise would have once Mr. Trump becomes president.
“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelenskyy said.
February 2025 would mark the third year of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine with Russia’s troops gaining ground in recent months.
For several months, Zelenskyy and many of his Western supporters have been requesting to use U.S. weapons to hit Russian military targets far from its border, saying the U.S. ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.
Some congressional Republicans have urged Mr. Biden to loosen the rules on how Ukraine can use U.S.-provided weapons.
contributed to this report.
CBS News
Ohio governor, other leaders condemn neo-Nazi march in Columbus: “Your hate isn’t welcome in our city”
Leaders in Ohio condemned a group of neo-Nazis parading around part of Columbus carrying flags with swastikas on Saturday afternoon.
Columbus public safety dispatchers told CBS affiliate WBNS on Saturday that they received multiple 911 calls around 1:30 p.m. about a group of individuals marching in the city’s Short North.
Video sent to the station showed nearly a dozen people wearing black pants, shirts and head coverings and red masks covering their mouths marching down the street. Three of the people were carrying black flags with red swastikas.
It was not immediately clear who was in the group.
Hours after the incident, Mayor Andrew Ginther released a statement saying the city rejects the “cowardly display” and that it “stands squarely against hatred and bigotry.”
“We will not allow any of our neighbors to be intimidated, threatened or harmed because of who they are, how they worship and whom they love,” Ginther said in his statement shared on X.
The city’s attorney, Zach Klein, said in a statement on X that those involved in the neo-Nazi march should “take your flags and the masks you hide behind and go home and never come back. Your hate isn’t welcome in our city.”
“This is not who we are, and we will not tolerate or normalize this disgusting ideology in any form,” he added.
Gov. Mike DeWine said in his own statement that the people involved in the incident were “spewing vile and racist speech against people of color and Jews.”
“There is no place in this State for hate, bigotry, antisemitism or violence, and we must denounce it wherever we see it,” he said.
Columbus Division of Police Sgt. Joseph Albert told WNBS that there were no arrests made, although he noted that many of the individuals were detained but later released.
Columbus, Ohio’s largest city, is located roughly 45 minutes from Springfield, where the Columbus Dispatch reported that neo-Nazis marched through the streets this summer as the city became the focal point of false claims about Haitian immigrants in the presidential election.
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