AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The U.S. Secret Service failed repeatedly to ensure the safety of the July 13 rally in Butler, Penn., where former President Trump was shot. That is the central finding of a scathing Senate report out today that lays out how these failures came to be. Here to discuss the report is Senator Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan. He's the chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, which led the investigation. Welcome, senator.
GARY PETERS: Well, it's great to be with you. Thanks for having me on.
CHANG: Great to have you. OK, so your committee cites multiple failures by the Secret Service - breakdown in communications, no clear plan to secure the building the shooter took aim from, no clear chain of command. And I'm just naming a few highlights there. Which failure is the most egregious to you?
PETERS: There were many, many failures on that day. And the thing to remember is that all those failures were preventable. You know, basically, I start with the planning. There was an inadequate plan put in place to safeguard the former president, and the most glaring is the failure to fully secure a building that had a clear line of shot to the stage. That should never happen. And when we asked questions about it through our interviews and looking at documents, there was no one single person in charge. We were told it's a collaborative effort, but how that could get through all of that effort and have that building unsecured is simply unacceptable.
CHANG: Well, that's what struck me the most because you stated that your committee heard a bunch of finger-pointing. Like, no one person said, yeah, it was me. I was in charge that day. In your view...
PETERS: Right.
CHANG: ...Was there a specific person who failed in the chain of command?
PETERS: Well, we couldn't identify that person because of the finger-pointing and who has various responsibilities. That's one of our recommendations. That's clearly got to change.
CHANG: You say there needs to be changes. Well, there have been some changes made to Secret Service protocol for public events with presidential candidates since the July 13 assassination attempt. Are those changes not enough? Is that essentially what you're saying?
PETERS: Well, we are seeing those changes, and we're in constant communication with the Secret Service. They are doing what they can to make sure that they're fully protecting the protectees (ph) that they're entrusted to do. And, you know, when you have another event later, which happened on the golf course with a gentleman who was on the property for 12 hours, you know, that raises other questions that we will also be looking at in the future.
CHANG: That said, for all the failures that your committee pointed out and other lawmakers, other investigators have pointed out, there are people who say that the Secret Service is just making do with scarce resources, right? Agents have to do a lot with very little. How do you respond to that argument? Does the Secret Service need more resources and more funding?
PETERS: Well, certainly, we have to take a hard look at that and determine that. And before I fully answer the question, I think it's really important for me to say the men and women of the Secret Service work hard every day. They put their lives on the line literally, and they are people who we should respect and honor for their service. But in this case, they were let down by the planning and the oversight. So in terms of resources, we have to first ask the question, given the money that you have now, are you managing it properly? Are you prioritizing investments in a way that makes sense? And then if additional resources are needed, I think you'll find broad support in Congress to do that. But there's no question that right now, resources are very stretched when you're in the middle of a presidential campaign.
CHANG: What is the most important thing that needs to happen now? I mean, there have been investigations. There have been and will be more hearings. What are you going to do to ensure that all of this anger translates into a different quality of protection that the Secret Service provides?
PETERS: Well, I think there's some immediate steps that need to be taken. The Secret Service needs help from local agencies. They all have to be on one communication line. The other issue that I focus a lot on - I'm doing this in my capacity as chair of Homeland. I've been really focused on drones and the fact that drones are an increasing threat to all public events. And the fact that what we saw in this case was that the counter drone that the Secret Service operates was not operating for a number of hours. We got testimony from the operator that he was on...
CHANG: A helpline.
PETERS: ...A tech - a helpline to figure out how to get it in the air. And we know that during that time, the shooter had his drone up in the air and was surveilling the area. And if you have a counter drone up there, you know that drone, especially before an event - that's someone who's probably has nefarious intent, and you have to check it out immediately. They would have been able to track the signal. They would have been able to apprehend him and...
CHANG: Right.
PETERS: ...Hold him in custody. And even the acting director of the Secret Service that had that happened - he would have probably thought, well, they have my number now. Today's not the day I'm going to try to do this.
CHANG: Senator Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan and chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Thank you very much for joining us today.
PETERS: Great to be with you. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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