The sparks were flying on Capitol Hill when the Acting Director of the Secret Service testified. 

Now, the embattled agency has another problem on its hands.

And Josh Hawley dropped the hammer on the Acting Secret Service Director with two brutal words.

Acting Secret Service Director grilled in Senate testimony

The investigations into how the Secret Service allowed a gunman to shoot former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania are getting underway.  

Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned under pressure after the debacle.

Ronald Rowe was tapped as Acting Secret Service Director until President Joe Biden can appoint a permanent replacement.

The leadership might have changed, but the lack of accountability is the same.

Rowe got into heated exchanges with multiple Senators during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked Rowe about the Secret Service agent in charge of the Butler rally who left the building that the gunman fired from outside of the security perimeter.

“Senator, I cannot give you that name,” Rowe said. “This person is operational. They’re still doing investigations. They’re still doing protective visits.”

Hawley wanted to know why the agent hadn’t been fired yet.

“They’re cooperating and being interviewed by the FBI and our Office of Professional Responsibility,” Rowe said. “We’ll let the facts of the mission assurance and any further investigations play out.”

“Isn’t the fact that a former President was shot, that a good American is dead, and other Americans were critically wounded, isn’t that enough mission failure for you to say the person who decided that building should not have been in the security perimeter probably ought to step down?” Hawley asked.

Rowe continued to insist that the investigation needed to play out.

The Missouri lawmaker continued to grill Rowe about accountability for the Secret Service agents who handled the rally’s security.

Why hasn’t anyone been fired?

“Has the person who decided to send Donald Trump on the stage knowing you had a security situation — has that person been relieved of duty?” Hawley questioned.

Rowe made it clear during his testimony that no one involved in the rally had faced accountability for what happened.

“What do you need to investigate to know there were critical failures that some individuals ought to be held accountable? What more do you need to know?” an exasperated Hawley said.

Rowe said that the investigation needed to play out.

Hawley continued to press, which got under the Acting Secret Service Director’s skin. 

“This could have been our Texas School Book Depository,” Rowe stated. “I have lost sleep over that for the last 17 days.”

“Then fire somebody,” Hawley exclaimed. “Hold them accountable!”

“I will tell you, Senator, I will not rush to judgment,” Rowe fired back. “People will be held accountable and I will do so with integrity and not rush to judgment and put people unfairly persecuted.”

“Unfairly persecuted? You have people who are dead!” Hawley yelled.

The new leadership is the same as the old at the Secret Service.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe is trying to avoid accountability for his agency’s catastrophic failure.