Secret Service head admits need for ‘paradigm shift’ after 2nd attempt on Trump’s life

(Daily Caller News Foundation) – The head of the U.S. Secret Service said on Monday that the agency will complete an overhaul following the alleged second attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Sunday.

Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe said that the agency would need an overhaul to its methodologies and that the threat level remains high. Federal and local officials confirmed Sunday the arrest of 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh for allegedly attempting to assassinate the former president at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“Coming out of Butler, I have ordered a paradigm shift. The Secret Service’s protective methodologies work, and they are sound, and we saw that yesterday,” Rowe said. “But the way we are positioned right now in this dynamic threat environment, it has given me guidance to say, you know what, we need to look at what our protective methodology is. We need to get out of a reactive model and get to a readiness model.”

A Secret Service agent discovered a rifle from the bushes, leading to Routh, a convicted felon, being charged with federal gun crimes.

A whistleblower claimed in August that Rowe slashed the Counter Surveillance Division’s resources, which handles advanced threat assessments for venues. Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley detailed these allegations in a letter to Rowe, and alleged that the acting director retaliated against agents who raised security issues before a Trump rally on July 13.

A poll shows that roughly 30% of Americans express high confidence in the Secret Service’s ability to protect presidential candidates from violence before the upcoming November election, according to The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey published in August.

The Secret Service did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.