(The Center Square) – Of the many costly security missteps uncovered at the rally site in Butler, Pa. where a would-be assassin nearly killed Donald Trump, one deterrent may have been relatively affordable.
Rep. Pat Fallon said the U.S. Secret Service could have fashioned a rudimentary fence made of caution tape, signs, posts and stakes around the AGR building on July 13 for roughly $410.
The agency’s decision to unman the outside of the building and exclude it from an overall security perimeter around the Butler Farm Show Grounds that day has drawn much criticism from lawmakers on the task force assembled to investigate both attempts on Trump’s life, the second occurring at a Mar-a-Lago golf course in September.
During a heated seven-minute exchange with Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr., the Republican congressman from Texas said the agency’s $2 billion funding increase seemed far in excess of what it would have cost to have functioning drones, more coordinated radio communications, agents on a nearby water tower and security deterrents available in Butler.
“What sticks in our craw is when we report to our constituents, we have to say, ‘Hey, this federal agency failed epically, and then they wanted to almost double their budget,’” Fallon said.
The conversation devolved into a shouting match after Fallon then accused Rowe of showing up at a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City for political purposes only.