Defense Department to assist Secret Service through election

The U.S. military will help the Secret Service protect campaigns through the Nov. 5 election and until the Jan. 20 inauguration, the Pentagon said Thursday. The security help will extend to the presidential campaigns and events around the country as well as bolstering security until the president-elect and vice-president-elect are inaugurated, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said.

Why is the Department of Defense getting involved? The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, asked the military for help, Singh said. On Thursday, the Pentagon approved that request. The Secret Service has faced heavy criticism and scrutiny from other public officials following an assassination attempt in July. A 20-year-old shooter opened fire on former President Donald Trump while he was at a campaign rally near Butler, Pa. on July 13. The man’s gunfire grazed Trump’s right ear and killed a man attending the rally. Moments later, a U.S. Secret Service countersniper fatally shot the would-be assassin.

Then-U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned days after the shooting. Her resignation came soon after Congress members grilled her about apparent security lapses that allowed the shooting to take place. Her replacement, U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe, eventually admitted to Congress that his team made mistakes that allowed the shooter to climb onto a rooftop near the venue and open fire.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about how police in Arizona arrested a man for making threats of physical violence against Trump.