{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/new-whistleblower-allegations-hawley-reveals-secret-service-declined-drone-usage-day-of-trump-butler-rally/", "NEW Whistleblower Allegations: Hawley Reveals Secret Service Declined Drone Usage Day of Trump Butler Rally", "2024-07-25", "2024", "2024-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a follow-up letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding his agency turn over all records concerning the United States Secret Service\u2019s (USSS) availability or use of drones during former President Donald Trump\u2019s July 13 rally.\n\nSenator Hawley\u2019s letter comes after new whistleblower claims to his office allege that USSS officers at the rally refused to deploy drones\u2014the same technology President Trump\u2019s attempted-assassin used to gauge his shots at the former president\u2014to secure the rally before it began.\n\n\u201cAccording to one whistleblower, the night before the rally, U.S. Secret Service repeatedly denied offers from a local law enforcement partner to utilize drone technology to secure the rally. This means that the technology was both available to USSS and able to be deployed to secure the site. Secret Service said no,\u201d Senator Hawley wrote.\n\nHis letter also states that, according to the whistleblower, USSS then \u201cchanged course\u201d and \u201casked the local partner to deploy the drone technology to surveil the site,\u201d but only in the aftermath of the attack.\n\nSenator Hawley has been a leading voice demanding accountability for the USSS\u2019 botched security rollout on July 13.\n\nSenator Hawley sent a separate letter to Secretary Mayorkas earlier this week, demanding answers after other whistleblower allegations suggested law enforcement officers assigned to the roof of the building the attempted-assassin shot from, abandoned their post due to the heat.\n\nLast week, Senator Hawley traveled to Butler, PA\u2014the site of the assassination attempt against President Trump\u2014before now-former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle visited it herself.\n\nRead the full letter here or below.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:32:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/new-whistleblower-allegations-hawley-reveals-secret-service-declined-drone-usage-day-of-trump-butler-rally/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.738041803240776, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}