The Secret Service has made another troubling security mistake while protecting former President Donald Trump.
During a campaign rally for the former president in Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon, a Secret Service agent allegedly left her post without notifying the on-site agent, the individual in charge of security.
The agent left her post just minutes before Trump’s motorcade arrived to breastfeed her son in a side room designated for agency work, RealClearPolitics first reported.
When the on-site agent conducted a last-minute walkthrough of the route Trump would take, he noticed the agent’s absence and later discovered her with several members of her family in the side room who were not screened by security.
Now the Secret Service is investigating the embattled agency’s latest blunder.
Three Secret Service sources told the outlet that the room where the agent was breastfeeding her son was reserved for agency work, such as a potential presidential emergency.
“All United States Secret Service employees are held to the highest standards,” Secret Service communications chief Anthony Gugliemi told DailyMail.com in a statement.
‘While there was no impact on the North Carolina event, the details of this incident are being reviewed.’
“As this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further,” he continued.
Three Secret Service sources told the outlet that the room where the agent was breastfeeding her son was reserved for agency work, such as a potential presidential emergency.
They also revealed that officers carrying out protection duties are prohibited from carrying a child.
The woman in question, sources revealed, was from the Atlanta field office and was in the side room with two family members.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina
Secret Service agents stand guard outside former President Trump’s motorcade shortly after he was shot by Thomas Matthew Crooks at his Butler campaign stop
Relatives were not screened by security, sources confirmed.
They told the outlet that the female officer and her family members completely bypassed the Uniformed Division security checkpoint and were instead escorted by staff to the room.
That escort was unauthorized, the sources said, meaning the Secret Service had not previously authorized them to be in that area.
The error is just the latest by the embattled agency, which has been plagued by controversies since would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks shot the former president at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Last week, before a campaign event for Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent was seen wearing a Secret Service patch on his bulletproof vest.
The Secret Service agent who gave the patch to the HSI agent broke protocol, a source familiar with the matter told DailyMail.com.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, is escorted by Secret Service agents before his Aug. 7 event in Detroit.
Secret Service keeps a close watch on a news conference as Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance speaks at the Shelby Township Police Department on August 7, 2024 in Shelby Township, Michigan. Vance and Harris spoke at competing events
“It’s not standard practice for the Secret Service to provide patches to other agencies,” the source told DailyMail.com. “It’s definitely against agency protocol.”
A Secret Service spokesman later revealed that internal action had been taken and policy changes were underway.
“The United States Secret Service has been made aware of a photograph in which a member of another law enforcement agency is inappropriately wearing a Secret Service patch,” the spokesman said.
‘Corrective action has been taken and guidance has been distributed to employees on the use of agency badges.’
And the controversies come at a politically sensitive time for the agency.
Since the Butler tragedy left firefighter Corey Comperatore dead and two other protesters brutally injured, the agency’s top brass have been hauled before Congress to account for their failures.
After testifying weeks after the attempted murder, Kimberly Cheatle resigned as head of the department.
Days later, his replacement, acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, was forced to testify before Congress about his agency’s historic failure.
That hearing, like Cheatle’s, quickly devolved into a shouting match as Rowe was repeatedly berated by lawmakers.
Lawmakers have also introduced legislation to reform the agency and prevent mistakes.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., told DailyMail.com this week that he introduced two bills targeting the Secret Service after Trump was saved by “luck” rather than the agency’s “skills.”
A Secret Service agent outside the White House, Washington, DC.
Secret Service agents surround Trump after he was shot on July 13 before escorting him off the stage and to his motorcade.
“We cannot leave the security of a president or a presidential candidate to chance,” the Democrat said.
If his legislation passes, it would increase the radius of protection the Secret Service must maintain around a protected person and strip them of their responsibilities in financial crimes.
A congressional task force has been created to investigate Butler’s rally and the FBI and DHS are conducting multiple investigations into the event.