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A grandstanding acting director of the Secret Service ran into a curious member of Congress and the result was a dramatic and intense shouting match between the two.

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Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe was being grilled by Texas Rep. Pat Fallon as part of the investigation by the congressional task force set up to examine the two attempts on Donald Trump’s life. 

Fallon wanted to make a point about lax Secret Service protection and he brought up the 9/11 commemoration ceremony where Rowe was standing directly behind Kamala Harris in a picture Fallon displayed.

“Who is usually, at an event like this, closest to the president of the United States, security-wise?” Fallon asked Rowe.

“The SAC of the detail,” Rowe answered, referring to the special agent in charge of security. Fallon wanted to know if Rowe was serving as SAC at the memorial event.

Rowe said the SAC was out of frame. So where is he?

Rowe didn’t answer directly. Instead, he went off on a tangent regarding his role on 9/11. “That is the day where we remember the more than 3,000 that have died on 9/11,” he said. “I actually responded to Ground Zero. I was there going through the ashes at the World Trade Center.”

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Yes but where was the SAC on Sept. 11, 2024?

“Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes.” The hearing went downhill from there.

“Do you know why you were there? Because you wanted to be visible because you’re auditioning for this job that you’re not going to get,” Fallon yelled. “You endangered President Biden’s life, Vice President Harris’ life because you put those agents out of position. Did you have a radio with you? Did you wear a vest? Did you have a weapon?”

CNN:

The tense exchange occurred during the final meeting of the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump, when Rep. Pat Fallon displayed a picture of Rowe standing behind President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during a 9/11 commemorative event in New York City in September. Trump and Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance also attended the ceremony.

The congressman, a Republican from Texas, accused Rowe of positioning himself in the area where the special agent in charge of Biden’s detail would have been, so that he would be seen behind the president. Rowe is not expected to continue on in the role once Trump takes office and podcaster Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who was highly critical of the agency’s leadership as security failures around the alleged attempts on Trump’s life became clear, as well as Sean Curran, the head of Trump’s current detail, are among those being considered for the job.

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Rowe was oblivious to his shortcomings. Fallon was trying to make the point that as a serving Secret Service agent, he should have been prepared for any eventuality. He was not there for a little face time on TV or to rub elbows with a future employer. Every Secret Service agent is on duty when the president is in public.

That Rowe doesn’t understand that is why he’s not going to be made the permanent director.