A hearing about presidential security upgrades after a gunman shot President-elect Donald Trump in July got contentious when the Secret Service’s Acting Director Ronald Rowe erupted before a House of Representatives panel on Thursday.
After Rowe assured them security changes had been put in place, Representative Pat Fallon, R-Texas, questioned Rowe's appearance at a ceremony for the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, where he stood near Kamala Harris and Trump appeared not to have an officer nearby.
“Who is usually at an event like this closest to the President of the United States?” Fallon asked Rowe. “Were you the special agent in charge of the detail that day?”
Rowe was outraged, shouting at Fallon and shaking his finger, "I actually responded to Ground Zero. I was there going through the ashes of the World Trade Center. I was there congressman — I was there to show respect for a Secret Service member that died on 9/11. Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes.”
He added that the special agent for Trump was just outside the photo.
Still, the attack became even more personal, with Fallon basically accusing Rowe of putting lives in danger so that he could peacock near the highest-level leaders.
“You wanted to be visible, because you are auditioning for this job that you’re not going to get,” he yelled. Rowe countered that he was out of line.
This week's hearing is the last session of a bipartisan House task force investigating security lapses connected to the assassination attempt on Trump, that just barely failed to take his life.
And Fallon's attack wasn't the only one on Rowe. “Your guys showed up that day, didn’t give a sh—. [There] was apathy and complacency, period, and that’s your mission,” House and Homeland Security Committee chairman Mark Green (R- Tenn.) said.
The task force, which includes seven Republicans and six Democrats, is set to issue their final report on the assassination attempt against Trump soon, but no actual date for the release has been set, per reports.