House task force to hold final hearing on Trump assassination attempts

Washington — Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe is set to testify Thursday before the bipartisan House task force investigating the assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump as the panel prepares to wrap its investigation into the incidents that sent shockwaves through the country in the lead up to the presidential election. 

The panel, which the House voted to establish earlier this year, is tasked with looking into the security failures during the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the foiled attempt in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15. The lawmakers will also make recommendations to prevent future attacks. Thursday's hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Capitol Hill.

The Secret Service came under intense scrutiny in the wake of the initial attack, and its director at the time, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned in July after a bruising day of testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. Rowe's testimony on Thursday marks his first public appearance before the task force, which heard testimony from local law enforcement and a former Secret Service agent at a hearing earlier this year. Rowe appeared before other congressional committees after he took control of the agency.