Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said President Biden, the presidential candidates, and their running mates would receive Secret Service counter-sniper coverage at all of their events. This was a new change since the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. Prior to this, sniper teams were provided via state and local law enforcement. The acting director said it was a “very fortunate” situation that a Secret Service counter-sniper team was assigned to former President Trump that day because the shooter was taken out quickly. He also said that the decision to add the team was based on a threat assessment. He did not go into specifics about the threat as he briefed reporters in Washington, DC, about the status of the investigation into the attempted assassination. The briefing was part of the acting director’s pledge to congressional lawmakers to be more transparent to the public about the investigation August 2, 2024