Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz criticized acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. on Tuesday for not directly answering his questions during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
The hearing followed the resignation of U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who had also faced scrutiny for her evasive testimony before Congress.
Cruz accused Rowe of dodging questions about the agency’s decision-making process and the allocation of agents between Trump and President Joe Biden.
“I believe that the Secret Service leadership made a political decision to deny these requests. And I think the Biden administration has been suffused with partisan politics,” Cruz stated. “Did the same person who denied the request for additional security to President Trump also repeatedly deny the requests for security to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose father was murdered by an assassin and whose uncle was murdered by an assassin? Did the same person make that decision?”
Rowe responded, “Senator, what I will tell you is that Secret Service agents are not political.”
Despite Cruz’s assertions of political bias in the Biden-appointed leadership, Rowe maintained that there is a bipartisan, bicameral process for assigning protection to candidate nominees. Cruz pressed Rowe for a clear answer: “Did the same person deny the Trump request that also denied the RFK request? That’s a yes or no question.”
Rowe countered, “Senator, that is not a yes or no question. One, there’s a process for a candidate nominee to receive protection. That is a bicameral, bipartisan process.”
Read: Israel Launches Strike In Beirut, Targeting Hezbollah Commander
Cruz corrected Rowe, stating that his use of the word “bicameral” was inaccurate since he’s not part of Congress, leading to a heated exchange.
Later in the hearing, Cruz inquired about the relative size of Trump’s security detail compared to that of President Biden and the First Lady.
Rowe responded, “Senator, the former president travels with a full shift, just like the president.”
Cruz sought clarification, asking if it was “the exact same size.”
Rowe confirmed, “On the day of, in Butler, the agents surrounding him, it is the same number of agents surrounding the president today.”
Cruz persisted, asking again if “Donald Trump had the same number of agents protecting him that Joe Biden has at a comparable event.” Rowe insisted he was trying to answer.
Read: Trump Allowed To Pursue Defamation Claims In Florida Against ABC News, Stephanopoulos
“You are not answering it. Is it the same number of agents or not?” Cruz demanded, later querying “how many more agents” Biden has than Trump.
“Sir, you are refusing to answer straight,” Cruz accused. “Sir, stop interrupting me. Stop interrupting me. You are refusing to answer clear and direct questions. I am asking the relative difference in the number of agents between those assigned to Donald Trump and those assigned to Joe Biden. I’m not asking why you assign more to Joe Biden.”
Rowe ultimately promised to provide Cruz with the numbers for him to review with his “own eyes.”
Help support the Tampa Free Press by making any small donation by clicking here.
Android Users, Click To Download The Tampa Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.