After the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania where Trump and two attendees were injured and one attendee was killed, HKS security expert Juliette Kayyem wrote that the Secret Service had one job—and failed. Kayyem is the Robert and Renee Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security and faculty chair of the Homeland Security Project and Security and Global Health Project at the Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. She also has made the case that we should “assume the boom”—in other words, expect the worse—and that “disasters are the standard now” in her 2022 book, The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters. Following Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle's resignation, Kayyem shares her thoughts on the investigation into the security failure and the extra precautions we might see moving forward.
Q: How does the resignation of Director Kimberly Cheatle impact the investigation into the July 13 shooting?
I have written that her resignation was necessary. Part of it is simply that the Secret Service has one job. And it wasn't simply that they failed in that job, it appears that they failed spectacularly. The other reason is that after her hearing, she lost the support of the Democrats on the Hill, including congressman Jamie Raskin. And I think when you lose people who are generally supportive of the administration, it is time to go.
But for me, I think her resignation was also necessary because she is going to be tied to this incident and the near-assassination of Donald Trump and the ensuing investigation.
For the investigation, I would look at the apparent independence that Trump had even after he was clearly under threat. What I know about Secret Service protectee planning is that the protectee really has no opinion and is not allowed to have an opinion. The protectee is a constitutionally relevant person, protected because of their importance in a succession order and therefore is not supposed to have any opinions about how they are protected.
When I look at various timing issues around July 13, I ask why didn't they interrupt Trump or stop him from speaking? Why did he seem to have so much physical independence? We are already hearing so many conspiracy theories.
That's why I also think it's very important that we get Trump's medical records. FBI Director Chris Wray was the first government official to raise the idea that Trump was not actually hit by a bullet, that he was hit by something else. I think the medical records are important now to address increasing conspiracy theories, have an honest account for the historical record, and ensure that we assess lessons learned accurately. I saw Wray’s testimony about it; he seems unsure. We deserve to know.
“The consequence of this assassination attempt is that, if the shooter had been successful, it would've impacted democracy.”
Juliette Kayyem
Q: What changes are you seeing in Secret Service procedures?
First, they cannot lose the strong relationship they have with state and local officials. I think people are surprised to learn how much the Secret Service relies on staying in touch with local officials. This was reiterated by Wray in his congressional testimony: we can't do this alone; we need state and local capacity.
I think the second change is the decision that Trump will no longer hold open-air rallies. That seems obvious. You would rather have an enclosed space where you can control the access points. You can control who's coming in and you can control the entire perimeter much more easily than in an open space. So that is a very big change.
And whatever your politics are, it does have an impact on our democracy. The consequence of this assassination attempt is that, if the shooter had been successful, it would've impacted democracy.
Q: What are your security concerns for the presidential race moving forward?
I'm not going to be shy about it. It was the right wing and the violent wing of the MAGA movement that the FBI was most worried about, whether it was violence or the threat of violence that they were promoting. And much of that comes from the language of Donald Trump. It’s not that there isn't violence on the left, it is that that violence isn't nurtured by leadership.
In that environment, people become radicalized. But that radicalization was generic. It was just against Democrats generally, or the rights they're taking away from you.
What you’ve seen since Harris has become the presumptive Democratic nominee is amplified language—whether it’s about her, the way she talks, her supposed laziness, her dating history, the fact that she is Black or mixed race. Even Speaker of the House Mike Johnson had to tell people to stop with the race-baiting and DEI accusations. I think that's only going to get worse and will increase the threat environment for her.
Q: Who can lead the Secret Service now?
Among the four or five names I’ve heard circulated, the deputy, Ronald Rowe, Jr., will likely keep that position through the inauguration just given everything that we know is about to happen.
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Banner photograph by Bruno Vincent/Getty Images; faculty portrait by Martha Stewart.