Trump assassination attempt: Senate to grill Secret Service, FBI officials

Drone footage shows lawmakers climbing on top of the AGR building Thomas Crooks fired from July 13. (Fox News Digital)

Officials from Beaver County, Pennsylvania, disputed several portions of acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr.’s testimony before a Senate panel Tuesday. Rowe was quick to deflect blame to local law enforcement for allowing a man to attempt to assassinate former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13.

Rowe and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate appeared for a joint hearing with the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. It was the first time a member of the Secret Service appeared before Congress since the resignation of former chief Kimberly Cheatle earlier this month.

Rowe testified that agents were unaware there was a man on the roof of the AGR building at the rally until it was too late. He also admitted the responsibility for the security breakdown at the former president’s rally ultimately rests with the Secret Service.

Rowe also used exhibits of the site and pointed to the roof that would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks fired from, adding, "I will not, and I cannot understand why there was no better coverage or at least someone looking at that roofline when that’s where they were posted."

The statement appeared to place blame on local snipers positioned inside the AGR building during the rally.

Read what local officials’ had to say about Rowe’s testimony.

U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the security failures leading to the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol, on July 30, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla)

The President of the National Fraternal Order of Police criticized acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, Jr. on Tuesday, after failing to provide answers regarding the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, but was quick to point fingers at local police.

The president of the group, Patrick Yoes released a statement after Rowe testified about the investigation in front of federal lawmakers.

“The Secret Service still cannot seem to provide any answers almost three weeks after the attempt on the former President’s life, but they don’t seem to have any trouble assigning blame on a partner agency,” Yoes said.  “It is the responsibility of the Secret Service to ensure the safety of their protectee—all that the local agencies can do is assist them with manpower and resources.”

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. testifies before the senate on July 30, 2024. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe. Jr. said Tuesday that information about a gunman on top of a roof was never relayed to agents providing security to former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, when a shooter opened fire and nearly assassinated him.

A panel of senators questioned Rowe during a hearing on the attempted assassination, including Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah,  who asked how the president could be allowed to take the stage.

“We’re looking at a situation in which, at a minimum, people knew that this guy had a gun at least two minutes before the shooting happened. I want to know what you can tell me about what happened during that final two minute period, where a bunch of people in the crowd saw and were shouting, ‘He’s got a gun,’” Lee told Rowe. “What happened during that period and why on earth was President Trump not removed from the stage at that moment?”

“No information regarding a weapon on the roof was ever passed to our personnel,” Rowe said.

Lee asked about the channel of communication between local law enforcement and Secret Service agents.

“Senator, that information stayed in state and local channels and did not make it over to Secret Service,” Rowe said.

“Did they not consider that relevant,” Lee asked. “You’re saying the  local police didn’t consider that relevant enough to pass along to Secret Service?”

“Sir, I think they were in the midst of dealing with a very critical situation and they articulated that over the radio, as I understand it,” Rowe said. “However, it was never relayed over to us.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said Tuesday he was disappointed that basic information was unavailable two weeks after a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

Johnson joined Fox News’ “America Reports” on Tuesday afternoon and said he would “love to have access to the agents on the ground,” after learning about the communication lapses between Secret Service and local law enforcement officials.

“I would say what little we learned, which I think is disappointing. Most of what we've learned about what happened on July 13th comes from local law enforcement,” Johnson said. “I thought it was actually interesting. It sounded like acting Director [Ronald] Rowe was throwing local law enforcement under the bus, but without giving us any details. When asked by Senator Hawley, according to whistleblowers, only those local teams that didn't stay on the roof because it's too hot. He can answer that question. So what frustrates me is we're 17 days after the assassination attempt. Basic information is not available. I mean, I would love to have access to the agents on the ground there. I would have all kinds of answers by this point in time. And the fact that he doesn't have those is just very disappointing.

“We were also told when the committee staff went to Butler on Friday that local law enforcement also offered them radios the Secret Service could have, so they would be in direct communication with local law enforcement. They didn't take those radios either. And of course, that is the great failure,” Johnson added.

Ronald Rowe, acting director of the U.S. Secret Service. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, got into a heated back and forth with acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. on Tuesday, as the senator pressed for information about  the security detail of former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Cruz pressed Rowe during a hearing on the attempted assassination of Trump, asking about the security detail and whether the Trump detail requested more resources which were turned down by Secret Service leadership.

Throughout the questioning, Cruz asked about how many agents were protecting Trump during the rally and how that compared to the security President Biden or the first lady gets, which Rowe could not give a solid answer to, though he did say Biden gets more security because of things like the nuclear codes.

Cruz also asked about the Trump security detail requesting more resources and reports that the resources were shot down.

“Let me tell you what I believe,” Cruz said. “I believe that the Secret Service leadership made a political decision to deny these requests. And I think the Biden administration has been suffused with partisan politics. Did the same person who denied the request for additional security to President Trump also repeatedly denied the request for security to…Robert F. Kennedy Jr, whose father was murdered by an assassin and whose uncle was murdered by an assassin? Did that same person make that decision?”

Rowe told Cruz Secret Service agents are not political.

Still, Cruz continued to press and Rowe refused to answer.

“Ok, you’re refusing to answer my question,” Cruz said, adding the failures on the day of the attempted assassination were catastrophic.

Donald Trump, with blood on his face, is surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is taken off the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told reporters Tuesday that it will take more than throwing additional money at the Secret Service in order to get the resources needed to protect a president.

Marshall spoke to reporters after a hearing on the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

“I think we've doubled their budget in the last ten years,” Marshall said of the Secret Service. “They have 8,000 agents protecting 33 people that they need to be able to roll up the people that are sitting and doing nothing in those offices.”

He later said the agents are doing important things and he did not mean to be so “cavalier.”

“Obviously, in this situation, President Trump probably needed 4 or 5 times that,” Marshall said. “I would argue that it would be next to impossible to make that particular site safe for the president. It's going to take more than just throwing money at it.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the acting U.S. Secret Service director may have acknowledged their failure to secure the roof a shooter was able to take fires at former President Trump from on July 13 was indefensible, but afterward continued with the same stonewalling pattern seen in the Biden administration’s agency.

Cruz spoke after a hearing on the attempted assassination of Trump, saying former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle should have been fired after the failed security detail.

“She should have resigned the day of the shooting. She did not. She should have been fired the day of the shooting. She was not,” Cruz said. “Acting director [Ronald Rowe, Jr.] at least acknowledged that their failure to secure the roof from where the shooter fired was indefensible. That being said, he continued the pattern we have seen from the Biden administration of stonewalling in this hearing.”

The senator continued, taking aim at the Biden administration’s Secret Service.

“Apparently, in the Biden Secret Service, the buck stops nowhere. Nobody has responsibility,” Cruz said.

Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas. (Getty Images)

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., following a hearing on the attempted assassination of former President Trump, called for an independent nonpolitical commission to study the entire crime scene.

“I'm calling for two things. One is an independent nonprofit commission to study and investigate the entire crime scene, leaving no rock unturned,” Marshall said. “And secondly, and certainly I have no more faith now than I did before the hearing today, is I'm calling for our commander-in-chief to immediately point a crisis leadership team to go into the Secret Service, establish that leadership, turn things upside down, and begin providing adequate protection for President Trump and others.

Sen. John Barrasso, inset, led dozens of bipartisan senators in a resolution to condemn the assassination attempt against former President Trump. (Getty Images)

Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., led a majority of the Senate in introducing a resolution Tuesday to officially condemn the attempted assassination of former President Trump earlier this month at a rally in Pennsylvania.

If passed in the upper chamber, the resolution would condemn the attempt on Trump's life, honor "the victims who were killed and injured at the rally" and call "for unity and civility in the United States."

The condemnation amassed 64 co-sponsors, notably including both Democratic Pennsylvania Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman, whose constituents were victims.

Barrasso plans to request passage of the resolution either through a mechanism known as a "hotline" that allows for objection or by unanimous consent on the Senate floor. It would take one senator's objection to prevent either.

Read more about the hearing from Thursday.

Fox News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate revealed Tuesday that federal investigators do not have complete access to emails that former President Trump's shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, sent.

"I think we've experienced a range of returns because some of the applications that he was using online were encrypted in nature," Abbate said while testifying before members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee and Judiciary Committee.

"Some of the email accounts will be broken into them. There are some that we have not been able to get information back because of their encrypted nature," he said.

Abbate's admission that the FBI does not have a complete handle on the information on Crooks' cellphone came after Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked about the 20-year-old's electronics that were obtained by the federal agency.

"So you're telling me the guy that took eight shots at the former president has apps and that we can't get into," Graham repeated. "Maybe if you could get into it, it would reveal some relevant information."

"That is correct, Senator," Abbate said.

"So if he were talking to some foreign power and I don't think any foreign power would hire this guy, but if this was some great plot by the Iranians," Graham said. "How do we solve this problem?"

"Senator, you know, as we've been saying, we need a solution that provides lawful access," Abbate said.

Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this update.

Facebook accounts incorrectly labeled the image of former President Trump raising his fist following this month's assassination attempt as "altered." (X screenshot / Fox News)

Former President Trump took to Truth Social in response to censorship of the media relating to the failed attempt on his life, urging his supporters to "go after" two Big Tech companies.

Trump lashed out at Meta and Google on Tuesday morning following outcry from social media users on Monday. Users reported that images and searches of the assassination attempt were being censored or marked as digitally altered.

"Facebook has just admitted that it wrongly censored the Trump 'attempted assassination photo,' and got caught. Same thing for Google," Trump wrote on his proprietary social media platform Truth Social. "They made it virtually impossible to find pictures or anything about this heinous act. Both are facing BIG BACKLASH OVER CENSORSHIP CLAIMS."

He continued, "Here we go again, another attempt at RIGGING THE ELECTION!!! GO AFTER META AND GOOGLE. LET THEM KNOW WE ARE ALL WISE TO THEM, WILL BE MUCH TOUGHER THIS TIME. MAGA2024!"

Users across X shared reports that their Facebook accounts were labeling the image of Trump pumping his fist in the air after the July 13 assassination attempt as "altered," accompanied by the message "Independent fact-checkers reviewed a similar photo and said it was altered in a way that could mislead people."

A company spokesperson admitted that incorrect fact checks were being applied to the photo and warned that further "inaccurate responses" to the media could appear before a fix is made.

"We know people have been seeing incomplete, inconsistent, or out of date information on this topic," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement on the controversy. "We're implementing a fix to provide more up-to-date responses for inquiries, and it is possible people may continue to see inaccurate responses in the meantime."

Meta Public Affairs Director Dani Lever later explained on X it was done in error as the systems were meant to detect a separate version of the image.

"This was an error," Lever said. "This fact check was initially applied to a doctored photo showing the secret service agents smiling, and in some cases our systems incorrectly applied that fact check to the real photo. This has been fixed and we apologize for the mistake."

Fox News Digital's Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this update.

The joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committees has now concluded. 

"The American people deserve to know what went wrong. And they deserve accountability for those, security failures," Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said in his concluding remarks. 

"And as we continue our bipartisan investigation into security failures that day and any underlying systemic issues, we'll continue working to follow the facts. Get clear answers, and make important recommendations to ensure that a security failure like this never happens again." 

Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. got into a heated exchange with Sen. Josh Hawley when the Missouri Republican demanded to know why more Secret Service personnel haven't been fired. 

Hawley appeared incredulous when Rowe indicated that the people who made decisions about the security perimeter at former President Trump's Pennsylvania rally and others involved with the communications breakdown had not yet lost their jobs.

"What more do you need to investigate?" Hawley demanded.

Rowe protested that Hawley was asking him to make a "rush to judgement" without thorough investigation of what happened.

"I will not rush to judgement. People will be held accountable," Rowe said. 

But Hawley countered, "Is it not prima fascia that somebody has failed? The former president was shot.”

"Sir, this could have been our Texas School Book Depository," Rowe said. "I have lost sleep over that for the last 17 days, just like you have.”

"Then fire somebody," Hawley insisted. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., inquired about the threat of foreign actors, naming Iran, to former President Trump. 

"What is the nature of the Iran threat?" Blumenthal asked. 

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said Iran has targeted Americans for many years. "We know publicly they've put, they've targeted former President Trump. They've called for his assassination," he said. 

Blumenthal then asked Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe whether there was a specific or imminent threat against Trump on July 13.

"We have no information that there are any coconspirators or that foreign or domestic, including Iran, related to this, but we're not I want to be clear. We have no evidence of that," Rowe said. "We're not ruling anything out. We're looking into all possibilities and leaving our minds open to that was that on the minds of the Secret Service on July 13th, that there might be some threat from Iran." 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, demanded to know why former President Trump was allowed to take the stage at his July 13 rally while there were reports of a suspicious person there.

"Why was President Trump allowed to take the stage at 6:02 p.m.?" Lee asked. "Exactly 17 minutes after multiple suspicious person reports were provided, complete with photos and information suggesting that the assailant had a range finder, something that ordinary people don't use in this kind of circumstance." 

Rowe said there was no communication that the suspicious person had a weapon.

"Senator, again, it was suspicion, not weapon, or there was never communication of that. There was an individual with a gun or threat or other bad intentions," said Rowe. 

Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., spoke to reporters Tuesday to reiterate calls for more firings at the U.S. Secret Service. 

"I think clearly, unequivocally, indisputably, there need to be some people who lose their jobs. Individual accountability demands that people recognize they failed," Blumenthal said. "And not only that, they put the former president's life in danger and other attendees, but their own fellow Secret Service comrades were in danger because of incompetence and failure in security. And people need to be held accountable and lose their jobs."

Graham echoed Blumenthal's statement.

"If you're in the military and something like this happened, every commander, every first sergeant, the entire unit would be replaced almost to a person. So if there's not major accountability here, then it's going to make it hard for Congress to accept that this was done the right way to make sure it doesn't happen again," Graham said. 

"The best way to make sure it doesn't have to happen again is to fire people, so that those who come behind them will realize there's a consequence for not getting it right. If you don't get fired after this, what would you get fired for?" 

Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this update.

Acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe Jr. refuted claims that he personally denied additional security resources and personnel for former President Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., asked Rowe about a RealClearPolitics report that cited multiple sources who claimed he made the decision to deny countersniper teams to any Trump event outside of driving distance from Washington, D.C. 

"Is that true?" Jonhson said.

Rowe responded, "That is a false statement. That is incorrect." 

"Okay. I mean, that's kind of information you need to refute with documentation," Johnson replied. 

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Tuesday that he had been informed by the Secret Service that a drone system was not operational on the day of former President Trump's rally due to technical difficulties.

"According to the Secret Service, the drone system was supposed to be operational at 3 p.m. that day. However, we've been told by Secret Service that because of cellular bandwidth problems, it wasn't operational until about 5:20 p.m. of that day. If the system was operational, Secret Service would have had the ability to detect the shooter and his own drone use," Grassley said. "Why is the Secret Service dependent upon local cellular network? Does the Secret Service have a backup plan in place?"

Acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe answered, "That is something that I briefed in the closed door, and again, something that has cost me a lot of sleep because of the eventual outcome of the assailant. That, what if we had geo-located him because the counter UAS platform had been up? It is something that I have struggled with to understand, and I have no explanation for it." 

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pressed the witnesses after FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate testified that SWAT observed shooter Thomas Crooks with a range finder before the assassination attempt.

Durbin asked, "What is the purpose of a range finder? And once this assassin was identified as using a range finder, wasn't that proof positive that he was a dangerous individual?"

Rowe replied, "So I'll say, Senator, that obviously somebody is trying to determine where they are in proximity to a location, a fixed location. I'll defer, to my colleague here, but I believe it was recreation or sports related. I thought I had read that it was a golf range finder. Nonetheless, it still would have provided him the ability to provide the distance that he was away from his intended target." 

"Wasn't that enough?" Durbin followed-up.

"As far as raising suspicion... I think he was identified as being suspicious by local law enforcement," Rowe said. 

"And nothing happened," said Durbin. 

Acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe Jr. shared several pictures from the sniper's viewpoint that demonstrated how Thomas Crooks found a perch that was not covered by Secret Service countersnipers.

Rowe testified that the Pittsburgh field office conducted the advance, walked the site with other agencies and local law enforcement, and identified the AGR building during security preparations. He said the Secret Service coutnersnipers met with their counterparts and the team leads had met to coordinate security for former President Trump's event.

He therefore had no explanation as to why the assailant was not seen before he opened fire on Trump.

"This is what our counter sniper team saw. Shooter. No elbows. You barely make out the crown of his head below it. The assailant up prone," said Rowe, pointing to a photograph that showed the coutnersniper's point of view. 

"These were discussions that were had between the Pittsburgh field office, the local counterparts, and everyone supporting that visit that day. And that's why when I laid in that position, I could not, and I will not, and I cannot understand why there was not better coverage, or at least somebody looking at that roof line when that's where they were posted." 

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate revealed Tuesday that investigators believe they have found a social media account associated with Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks.

"Something just very recently uncovered that I want to share is a social media account, which is believed to be associated with this with the shooter," Abbate said.

The FBI deputy director indicated this social media account was active from 2019-2020 and that there were "over 700 comments posted from this account." 

"Some of these comments, if ultimately attributable to the shooter, appear to reflect anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant themes to espouse political violence and are described as extreme in nature," Abbate said. 

"While the investigative team is still working to verify this account to determine if it did in fact belong to the shooter, we believe it is important to share and noted today, particularly given the general absence of other information to date from social media and other sources of information that reflect on the shooter's potential, motive and mindset. These are the facts, in part, that the investigation has revealed to date while the shooter is dead. Our work is very much ongoing and urgent." 

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate gave a brief timeline of the facts that have been established to date by the investigation into the Trump rally assassination attempt. 

"On July 3rd, the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania was announced," Abbate said. "On July 6th, the shooter registered to attend the rally and performed a search for, quote, how far was Oswald from Kennedy? On July 7th, the shooter traveled from his home to the Butler Farm Showgrounds and remained there for approximately 20 minutes. We assess this shows advanced planning and reconnaissance on his part. On July 12th, the shooter traveled from his home to the Clairton Sportsman Club, where he practiced shooting.

"On the morning of July 13th, at approximately 10 a.m., the shooter returned to the Farm Show grounds and remained there for about 70 minutes before returning home again. At approximately 1:30 p.m., while at the residence, the shooter's father gave him a rifle for the purpose he believed of going back to the sportsman club. 

"About 25 minutes later, the shooter, purchased ammunition while enroute to the Butler Farm Showgrounds. The subject then arrived at the scene was moving around the farm showgrounds close to the American Glass Research Building, from which he ultimately committed the attack. Shortly thereafter, at approximately 3:51 p.m., the shooter flew a drone approximately 200 yards from the Farm Showgrounds for about 11 minutes. The drone and controller were later found in the subject's car. Analysis has not revealed any photos or video taken by the drone, but we can confirm that he was livestreaming at the time and would have been able to view to view it on his controller. 

"The first reported citing the shooter by local law enforcement, was at approximately 4:26 p.m.. At approximately 5:10 p.m., the shooter was again identified by local law enforcement as a suspicious person around the building, and approximately 5:14 p.m., a local Swat operator took a photo of the shooter. At about 5:32 p.m., local Swat observed the shooter next to the building using his phone, browsing news sites and with a range finder. At approximately 5:38 p.m., the photo of the shooter, taken earlier.

"Subsequently, approximately 25 minutes prior to the shooting, the U.S. Secret Service command post was notified of a suspicious person. Officers lost sight of the subject from approximately 6:02 p.m. to 6:08 p.m., but continued to communicate with each other in an attempt to locate him. Recently discovered video from a local business shows the shooter pulling himself up onto the AGR building rooftop. At approximately 6:06 p.m. and approximately 6:08 p.m., the subject was observed on the roof by local law enforcement.

"At approximately 6:11 p.m., a local police officer was lifted to the roof by another officer, saw the shooter, and radioed that he was armed with, quote, a long gun. Within approximately the next 30s, the shots were fired." 

Ranking member Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called out Google and the mainstream media for attempting to bury the Trump assassination story in the weeks since the July 13 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"Eighteen days ago, a would be assassin managed to climb onto a roof 400 feet from the stage where the former president, and leading presidential candidate Donald Trump was speaking. The assassin's bullet struck President Trump narrowly missing a fatal blow thanks to a last minute head turn. Tragically, not everyone was so fortunate. A beloved husband and father in the audience was killed and his life stolen in an instant. Two others remain seriously injured. Their futures uncertain, the lives of law enforcement officers working the event and those in the audience have been forever changed," Paul said. 

"Yet the media has shamefully moved on to other stories, and Google has been caught trying to suppress iconic images of a bloody Donald Trump images showcasing the resolve of our nation in the face of the attack. But the American people have not forgotten, and we will not forget. There is no question that this was a monumental failure by the Secret Service. They had one job and they failed." 

Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., gaveled in Tuesday's hearing, calling the attempt on former President Trump's life an "attack on democracy." 

"Americans should be able to attend a political rally and express their political beliefs without without fear of violence. And political candidates for our nation's highest office should be confident that their safety will never be compromised for their service," Peters said. 

"And although we're still learning about the shooter's motive, this attack was a shocking reminder that the threat of political violence is alive and well in our country. By all accounts, this was a inexcusable security and planning failure, and we need to get all of the facts about what happened that day and how we can ensure an attack like this is never, never allowed to happen again." 

Peters said the committee will ask questions about the Secret Service's advanced planning efforts, the decisions surrounding sniper and countersniper team placement and communications breakdowns during Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has diligently sought records and testimony from the FBI, Secret Service and local law enforcement as his office conducts oversight after the assassination attempt on former President Trump.

Grassley spoke to Fox News on Tuesday to preview his line of questioning when Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate testify to lawmakers. 

"Well, I'm going to start out by asking about the drones. Why the Secret Service had drones and it wasn't workable when they were ready to put it up into the air. And I think that's a shortcoming, since the shooter had a drone that flew over the area," Grassley said. 

"Then we're going to follow up with this communication breakdown between law enforcement — local law enforcement and Secret Service, and why they didn't have a meeting before the event happened or a few days before the event happened. There's just a lot of shortcomings." 

Donald Trump during his speech at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. (Getty Images)

Former President Trump's speech in Nashville, Tennessee, over the weekend was briefly delayed by the Secret Service over another security concern, just two weeks after he survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Trump was prepared to take the stage on Saturday afternoon inside the Music City Center for the 2024 Bitcoin conference when Secret Service agents had him wait as two credentialed and screened attendees were removed from the venue for not following proper entry protocols, a Secret Service spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.

The former president was told by his Secret Service detail to wait until the two individuals were located before he could take the stage to give his keynote address.

The spokesperson said there was never a threat to Trump.

"It was determined that there was no protective interest with these individuals and there was never a threat to the former president," the spokesperson said.

Both individuals were questioned by law enforcement after they were found and removed from the event, the New York Post reported. Neither person was charged in connection with the incident.

The two people were stopped at an initial checkpoint before bypassing the second screening, according to the outlet.

It remains unclear how the individuals made it past the screening.

Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this update.

A diagram illustrates approximate coverage areas by local sniper teams from both Beaver and Butler counties at the rally for former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. The former president was shot at in an assassination attempt at the rally, resulting in the death of one of the rally goers. (Provided by Senator Chuck Grassley )

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley's office released several records related to the attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday. 

In a planning diagram, the locations of various snipers for Butler County and Beaver County can be seen. The approximate coverage of each sniper team was labeled, with each focused on the area surrounding where the stage would be. 

However, would-be assassin Thomas Crooks' location on top of a warehouse owned by AGR International was not included in the area covered by snipers. His placement is detailed in an after-action report from Beaver County, which reiterated the position of their sniper, not far from Crooks' position. 

The documentation compiled by Grassley also demonstrated the sightings of Crooks, and observation of his suspicious behavior leading up to the shooting that evening. 

Roughly an hour before the attempted assassination, snipers noticed Crooks, reporting that he was sitting at a picnic table nearby. 

"I did see him with a range finder looking towards the stage," a text to a group chat of multi-county snipers read at 5:38 p.m. "If you wanna notify [Secret Service] snipers to look out. I lost sight of him."

The author of the message also said a bike and a backpack had appeared in the building's rear. 

Photographs of Crooks and the bike and backpack were exchanged by local police over text message.

Just minutes before Crooks opened fire, the local officers assisting with the event weren't sure where he had gone.

One person responded, "not sure" when asked what direction Crooks had traveled in. "He was up against the building," they wrote at 6:00 p.m. "If I had to guess towards the back. Away from the event."

Five minutes later, it was communicated over the radio that the suspect was at the picnic tables and moving towards Sheetz with a backpack. Between 6:06 and 6:12, an individual, the name of whom is redacted in the after-action report, attempted to tell patrol officers about Crooks' presence around the building on the side of the fairgrounds. 

But at 6:12 p.m., shots were fired. 

Grassley's office indicated that his oversight of the attempted assassination is ongoing. 

Fox News Digital's Julia Johnson contributed to this update.

A screenshot of text messages obtained in the investigation of the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. (Obtained by Senator Chuck Grassley )

New texts between members of Beaver County emergency services in Pennsylvania show just how understaffed they were ahead of a rally for former President Trump earlier this month when a would-be assassin shot him and others, killing a spectator. 

In a discussion between team leaders at the emergency services, who were requested to assist with the rally in nearby Butler County where the event took place, several unnamed people discussed their lack of available workers. 

According to one leader, his team was busy and could not work the rally, remarking that "everyone else is either working, on vacation or hurt," in texts provided to Fox News Digital by the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

The senator's office revealed an overview of all records received by Grassley regarding the attempted assassination on Monday. 

Text messages between the team leaders of the Beaver County emergency services unit showed that they were asked to assist Butler County with security for the Trump event only days before the rally. A message was sent to team leaders on July 8, asking who would be available to help for the July 13 event. 

"It is probably going to be a 12 [hour] detail. Right now I am looking for 6 guys available. If absolutely needed we can split the shift," a text to the leaders read. 

At one point, someone said they may tell Butler County, where Trump's rally took place, that the emergency services from Beaver County may need to be "on call" instead. 

Fox News Digital's Julia Johnson contributed to this update.

The parents of Thomas Crooks, Matthew and Mary Crooks, return to their home in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

Questions about whether the parents of would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks could face charges resulting from their son's shooting crimes have arisen as officials release more information about his secluded personality and lack of a social life.

"You'd have to prove in some way beyond a reasonable doubt that [Crooks' parents] aided and abetted his ability to plan this attempted assassination or, in some way, knew what he was doing and provided him some means to do it," Pennsylvania-based attorney Matthew Mangino of Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly and George told Fox News Digital. "That would be difficult to prove, I would think, beyond a reasonable doubt."

Mangino added, however, that "civil liability is a completely different story." 

Pursuing civil action against Crooks' parents would require "a preponderance of the evidence that … they could have or should have intervened to protect, not only the former president, but the public," as well as the victim who died.

Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this update.

Buildings that are adjacent to the Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, are seen Monday, July 15, 2024, in Butler, Pa. Thomas Crooks fired from the roof of the building complex and wounded Trump on July 13 during an assassination attempt. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The FBI on Monday morning told reporters that would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks accessed the roof of a building near former President Trump's July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, by climbing up HVAC equipment and piping.

Crooks then traversed multiple rooftops before he found his shooting position on top of a building owned by American Glass Research (AGR), located near the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds about 150 yards from where the former president spoke at his rally.

The FBI hosted a press conference call with reporters more than two weeks after 20-year-old Crooks fired at Trump with a DPMS AR-15-style firearm with a collapsable stock during the rally in an assassination attempt that nicked the president's ear but left one man dead and two others hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

While investigators determined that Crooks did purchase a ladder just hours prior to the assassination attempt, he left it at his residence in Bethel Park and did not use the ladder at the rally later on.

Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge at the FBI's Pittsburgh field office, said the agency has examined more than 2,100 tips related to the assassination attempt since July 13.

Leading up to the shooting, Crooks apparently conducted internet searches for current and former presidents. 

Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this update.

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned last week in the wake of mounting pressure following the assassination attempt on former President Trump.

Fox News reviewed the letter Cheatle sent to the U.S. Secret Service Tuesday morning, just a day after taking bipartisan heat during testimony before the House Oversight Committee Monday and over a week after a would-be assassin Thomas Crooks attempted to take the life of Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. 

"To the Men and Women of the U.S. Secret Service, The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure," Cheatle wrote in a letter to the agency. "On July 13th, we fell short on that mission."

Cheatle said that the "scrutiny" over the last week "has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases." 

"As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse," she wrote. 

Biden, who did not fire Cheatle in the 10 days since the shooting, said he is "grateful to Director Kim Cheatle for her decades of public service," and that he will appoint a new director soon. 

"As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service," Biden said. "We all know what happened that day can never happen again. As we move forward, I wish Kim all the best."

Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman, Jacqui Heinrich and Peter Doocy contributed to this update.

Tuesday's hearing comes after the FBI released new details regarding the investigation into the would-be presidential assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks. 

The FBI told reporters on Monday that Crooks had a long-standing "interest in science" and "experiments," and as a result, his family "wasn't concerned" about the myriad packages he was receiving at their house.

"The shooter had a long interest in science and things like this and had been doing experiments and things like that over a period of time," said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh Field Office. "For that reason, [his family] wasn't concerned that [the packages] were focused on committing an attack of this nature of harming other people."

Crooks, 20, made 25 gun-related purchases online between spring 2023 and the first half of this year, and bought materials used to make explosives six times, all with aliases, according to the agency.

President Biden is now tasked with appointing a permanent head of the Secret Service. Biden wrote in a statement that he plans to make his choice "soon."

"The independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13 continues, and I look forward to assessing its conclusions. We all know what happened that day can never happen again," Biden wrote. "As we move forward, I wish Kim all the best, and I will plan to appoint a new Director soon."

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Christina Coulter contributed to this update.

Ronald Rowe, acting director of the U.S. Secret Service, leaves the U.S. Capitol after a briefing with senators on Thursday, July 25, 2024. The former director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

A former colleague who knew acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. from his time serving with the West Palm Beach Police Department in Florida praised him as "very intelligent" and "well-rounded."

West Palm Beach Assistant Police Chief Tony Spatara told CBS 12 that he met Rowe at the police academy in 1995 at what is now Palm Beach State College. 

"Knowing him personally, I am very proud he achieved his goal and then some in the Secret Service," Spatara said. "Ron is a very intelligent person who is well rounded, has a multitude of experience." 

After graduation, Rowe joined the WPBPD's SWAT team and was selected to serve on high profile law enforcement task forces as the city battled a crack cocaine epidemic, CBS 12 reported.

Spatara recounted a time Rowe sprung into action while providing security detail at St. Mary's Medical Center. 

“There was a patient there that was a drug seeker. The doctor knew that. He threatened the doctor with a gun, and Ron interceded and stopped that situation from getting worse," said Spatara.

The assistant police chief said Rowe is the "exact" right person to lead the Secret Service as if faces an accountability and credibility crisis following the nearly successful attempted assassination of former President Trump. 

"I think they made the correct decision in selecting him. I don’t know of a person in this country that’s more up to the task of taking on the challenge of what’s upcoming.”

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this update.

The new acting director of the Secret Service will testify before Congress on Tuesday alongside a senior FBI official regarding the assassination attempt against former President Trump.

Acting director Ronald Rowe Jr. and FBI Deputy director Paul Abbate will appear for a joint hearing with the Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees. It is the first time a member of the Secret Service will appear before Congress since the resignation of former chief Kimberly Cheatle earlier this month.

The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for Rowe's prepared remarks to the committees.

Rowe has assumed the helm of the Secret Service as elected officials and the public grow increasingly wary of the agency following the assassination attempt on former President Trump.

Rowe is now responsible for leading the more than 7,800 special agents, uniformed division officers and technical law enforcement officers, as well as administrative and technical staff.

Prior to joining the Secret Service, Rowe was a member of the West Palm Beach Police Department in Florida. 

Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom contributed to this update.