Sen. Blackburn Calls for Secret Service Overhaul After Trump Assassination Attempt

Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent a sharply worded letter Wednesday to the Secret Service director demanding an immediate top-to-bottom review of the agency and a full audit of every employee on its payroll. The move comes nearly two weeks after an armed gunman sprinted past a checkpoint at an event tied to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in what authorities described as a third assassination attempt on President Trump.

The senator wrote that the agency must "root out the rot" or the nation will suffer the consequences. Blackburn drew a direct connection between recent misconduct cases and the agency's protective mission at a time when threats against the president are increasing.

She cited the arrest of a uniformed division officer found naked and masturbating in a Miami hotel hallway days earlier as an example of conduct that cannot be tolerated. "It is blatantly clear that the Secret Service needs to be cleaned up," the Tennessee Republican wrote.

" — Sen. Marsha Blackburn, May 8, 2026 (RealClearPolitics) The letter also references a gunfight involving Secret Service personnel near the Washington Monument that injured a juvenile bystander with a stray bullet. Federal prosecutors charged a 45-year-old man from Texas in that incident.

Questions have been raised about the timeliness and detail of information released by the agency afterward. Blackburn highlighted additional personnel issues including vetting failures, an agent who married a foreign national without proper notification, an FBI raid on an agent's home tied to alleged tax fraud, and an agent charged in the murder of a family member.

She described these as part of a clear pattern of incompetence that requires prompt action. The dinner incident involved a suspect who exchanged fire with an officer before being pursued and apprehended 45 yards from the ballroom stairs. The officer was shot but protected by a ballistic vest.

Blackburn noted that swift action by personnel prevented potential harm to attendees including the president. The senator stopped short of calling for the director's resignation but signaled growing congressional pressure on the agency. This pressure has built since a July 2024 assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and a subsequent attempt two months later at a golf course in West Palm Beach.

In an unrelated development, Sen.

Susan Collins disclosed that she has a benign essential tremor that has been present for her entire nearly three-decade Senate career. The tremor affects her hands, head and voice but "does not interfere" with her work, Collins said. It is not a neurodegenerative condition and she has lived with it for decades.

The senator maintains a near-perfect voting record with 9,966 consecutive votes cast. Health and age have drawn scrutiny in the Maine Senate race. Collins, 73, faces a likely Democratic opponent who is 41 and has spoken openly about his own service-related disabilities and chronic pain.

The contest is viewed as one Democrats must win to have a chance at regaining Senate control.

The Secret Service has faced repeated public examination following multiple security incidents. A bipartisan effort began this week to shift the agency from Homeland Security oversight to direct White House supervision. Separately, the White House chief of staff convened a meeting with agency and department leaders after the dinner incident to discuss protocols for major events.

Law enforcement observers have questioned aspects of recent responses including the handling of the Washington Monument shooting and the characterization of security at the dinner as having been set up perfectly. The agency continues to protect the president amid what Blackburn described as escalating threats.