Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced on Tuesday that a whistleblower claimed the U.S. Secret Service told former President Donald Trump that the agency “did not have sufficient assets” to secure a campaign rally in Wisconsin.
Hawley sent a letter on Tuesday to Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe, asking the director to confirm whether the Secret Service “effectively forced the Trump campaign to cancel an upcoming event in Wisconsin.”
“This new information calls into question your recent public statements regarding the level of security your agency is providing to the former president,” Hawley wrote. “It also suggests that the Secret Service’s inability to fully protect former President Trump may be affecting the conduct of the presidential campaign.”
In his letter, Hawley cited a whistleblower who claimed that the Secret Service recently told the former president’s campaign that it “did not have sufficient assets to secure a potential campaign rally in Wisconsin.”
Hawley added, “Other whistleblowers with knowledge of Secret Service planning protocols allege that failure to provide protection for a major public event is highly unusual and that a sitting president would never be denied resources in this way.” The Republican senator also pointed out that the Secret Service recently secured a rally venue for Vice President Kamala Harris in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Hawley said that if the allegations are true, the “apparent double standard” contradicts what Rowe has publicly stated regarding the Secret Service’s protection of the former president and “raises troubling questions.”
The Missouri senator concluded his letter by asking Rowe to confirm whether the Secret Service told Trump, the Trump campaign, or related business entities that the Secret Service could not provide protection at a rally event in Wisconsin and whether the Secret Service has ever told President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris that the agency “could not secure a campaign event of their choosing.”
During an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters on Tuesday night, Hawley confirmed that a whistleblower with “direct knowledge of the Trump campaign and the Secret Service and their interactions” said the Secret Service “told the Trump campaign they could not secure a rally for Donald Trump in the state of Wisconsin.”
Hawley emphasized that the whistleblower report “directly contradicts” the Secret Service director’s past statements and raises multiple questions regarding Secret Service’s role in the 2024 presidential race.
“This calls into question, Jesse, what they’re saying about staffing, it calls into question what they’re saying about parity between Harris and Trump, and once again, it underscores the fact they’re not telling us the whole truth,” the Republican senator said.
