{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=1559DF6B-541E-42DF-B0DE-1A7135AF1903", "Thune Calls for National Unity, Stresses Urgent Need for Reforms at Secret Service", "2024-07-24", "2024", "2024-07", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "\u201c[I]f there\u2019s one thing we can take from the events of July 13 \u2013 other than the immediate practical need of addressing security failures \u2013 it is a renewed determination to live our lives in such a way that we too, at the time of our testing, would be among those whose response was to help and protect their fellow man.\u201d\n\nClick here to watch the video.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and the need for Americans to embrace the values that unite us. Thune noted that it was appropriate for the Secret Service director to resign, but that serious reforms and accountability are still necessary to ensure the agency fulfills its mission going forward.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cMr. President, the attempted assassination of President Trump 11 days ago at a peaceful rally in Pennsylvania shook the nation.\n\n\u201cAnd I am very thankful that he was not seriously harmed.\n\n\u201cAnd I am grateful also for the law enforcement personnel who rushed in to cover the president when the shooting started.\n\n\u201cBut as every American knows by now, the events of July 13 should never have happened.\n\n\u201cThere was not just one but a number of apparent security breakdowns, notably a failure to secure the roof before the rally.\n\n\u201cAnd while we are grateful for the fact that President Trump was not killed, these security failures resulted in the death of one innocent American, and serious injury to two others.\n\n\u201cAnd it is appropriate that the Secret Service director resigned yesterday in the wake of this tragedy.\n\n\u201cBut there is more work to be done.\n\n\u201cMultiple investigations are currently being conducted, several of them here in Congress, to identify everything that went wrong that Saturday and explore ways to ensure that it never happens again.\n\n\u201cAnd among other things, we obviously need to take a hard look at what needs to be done at the Secret Service.\n\n\u201cI have no doubt that there are many dedicated agents serving there, including those who heroically dived to cover President Trump when the shooting started, but the fact is that the Secret Service has been beset by problems for a number of years now, including staffing issues and a number of previous security failures.\n\n\u201cAnd it\u2019s time to fix these problems once and for all and ensure that the Secret Service is fully prepared to fulfill its mission.\n\n\u201cWe also need a new Secret Service director committed to making reform of the agency a priority.\n\n\u201cMr. President, events like the ones of July 13 always horrify because they demonstrate the worst of which human beings are capable.\n\n\u201cBut they also often give us a glimpse of the very best.\n\n\u201cAnd that was certainly true in Pennsylvania.\n\n\u201cThere was Corey Comperatore, the volunteer firefighter who died protecting his family.\n\n\u201cThe emergency room physician and others who attempted to render medical assistance.\n\n\u201cThe everyday Americans who stepped in to help their fellow rallygoers.\n\n\u201cAnd if there\u2019s one thing we can take from the events of July 13 \u2013 other than the immediate practical need of addressing security failures \u2013 it is a renewed determination to live our lives in such a way that we too, at the time of our testing, would be among those whose response was to help and protect their fellow man.\n\n\u201cMr. President, soon after surviving the attempt on his life, President Trump said, \u2018In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans ...\u2019\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s a call that we should all heed.\n\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean, of course, that our disagreements suddenly disappear, but it does mean that we recognize and remember that most Americans, regardless of where they land politically, want what\u2019s best for our country\u2019s future.\n\n\u201cAnd I hope that out of this tragedy can come a renewed sense of what unites us.\n\n\u201cAmid the outpouring of shock and concern after the attempted assassination, there were those who actually made remarks lamenting that President Trump wasn\u2019t killed.\n\n\u201cAnd it is disturbing that our discourse \u2013 and our regard for the value of human life \u2013 has deteriorated to such an extent that there would actually be people wishing bodily harm on a political candidate simply because they don\u2019t like his politics.\n\n\u201cAnd in the midst of our real and valid disagreements, I hope we can remember the people beneath the politics and emerge with a greater respect for our fellow Americans.\n\n\u201cMr. President, my thoughts and prayers continue to be with those injured on July 13, and with the families of the injured and deceased.\n\n\u201cAnd I pray that the events in Butler, Pennsylvania, will never be repeated.\n\n\u201cMr. President, I yield the floor.\u201d", 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.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=1559DF6B-541E-42DF-B0DE-1A7135AF1903"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6566610429435968, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": 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