Secret Service suspended half a dozen agents without pay in aftermath of Butler shooting

Deputy Secret Service Director Matt Quinn said the agents who were suspended over the first assassination attempt were given penalties that ranged from 10-42 days of suspension without pay or benefits.

By Misty Severi

Published: July 9, 2025 8:53pm

The Secret Service suspended at least six agents last year in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, while he was still a candidate.

The revelation comes a day after the Justice Department announced two people have been charged with gun-related crimes after selling a gun to another would-be Trump assassin, Ryan Wesley Routh, just a few weeks before his alleged attempted assassination. He allegedly attempted to shoot Trump in September 2024.

Deputy Secret Service Director Matt Quinn told CBS News on Wednesday that the agents who were suspended over the first assassination attempt were given penalties that ranged from 10-42 days of suspension without pay or benefits.

"We are laser-focused on fixing the root cause of the problem," Quinn said while defending the agency's decision not to fire anyone in the wake of the assassination attempt. "We aren't going to fire our way out of this. We're going to focus on the root cause and fix the deficiencies that put us in that situation.

"Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler," he continued. "Butler was an operational failure and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again."

Quinn said that the personnel who were suspended after Butler were placed in restricted duty or given roles with less operational responsibility when they returned. This punishment was in line with a federally mandated process, he said.

The deputy director also said the Secret Service has since introduced a new fleet of military-grade drones and mobile command posts that streamline communication between officers, and allow agents to communicate over radio.

The Secret Service faced heavy backlash over the failures in Butler, including a 180-page House report that found "preexisting issues in leadership and training created an environment" in which security failures could occur.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.