The Secret Service has made another concerning security mishap while protecting former PresidentDonald Trump.
During the former president's campaign rally in Asheville, North Carolina, on Wednesday afternoon, a female Secret Service agent allegedly left her position without telling the site agent - the individual in charge of security.
The agent departed her post just minutes before Trump's motorcade arrived at the venue to breastfeed her child in a side room meant for agency work, RealClearPolitics first reported.
When the site agent conducted a last-minute walkthrough of the route Trump would take, they noticed the agent's absence and later discovered her with several family members in the side room who were not vetted by security.
Now the Secret Service is investigating the latest mistake for the embattled agency.
Three Secret Service sources told the outlet that the room the female agent was nursing her child in was reserved for agency work like a potential presidential emergency
'All employees of the U.S. Secret Service are held to the highest standards,' Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Gugliemi told DailyMail.com in a statement.
'While there was no impact to the North Carolina event, the specifics of this incident are being examined.'
'Given this is a personnel matter, we are not in a position to comment further,' he continued.
Three Secret Service sources told the outlet that the room the female agent was nursing her child in was reserved for agency work like a potential presidential emergency.
They also revealed that agents working a protective assignment are forbid from bringing a child.
The woman in question, the sources revealed, was from the Atlanta Field Office and was in the side room with two family members.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina
Secret Service agents stand guard outside of former President Trump's motorcade shortly after he was shot by Thomas Matthew Crooks at his Butler campaign
Those family members were not screened by security, the sources confirmed.
They told the outlet that the female agent and members of her family completely avoided the Uniformed Division security screening and instead were escorted by staff into the room.
That escort was unpinned, the sources said, which means they were not previously cleared by the Secret Service to be in that area.
The mistake is just the latest made by the embattled agency that has suffered several controversies since would be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks shot the former president at his Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally on July 13.
Last week, before a campaign event for trump's running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent was spotted wearing a Secret Service patch on his armor vest.
The Secret Service agent who gave the HSI agent the patch broke protocol, a source familiar with the matter told DailyMail.com.
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, is escorted by Secret Service agents ahead of his August 7 event in Detroit
Secret service closely monitors a press conference with Vice Presidential Candidate JD Vance speaks at the Shelby Township Police Department on August 7, 2024 in Shelby Township, Michigan. Vance and Harris both spoke at competing events
‘Secret Service providing patches to other agencies is not standard practice,’ the source told DailyMail.com. 'It’s definitely against agency protocol.'
An official spokesperson for the Secret Service later revealed that an internal action had been taken and policy changes were underway.
'The U.S. Secret Service became aware of a photo where a member of another law enforcement agency is improperly wearing a Secret Service patch,' the spokesperson said.
'Corrective action has been taken and guidance has been distributed to the workforce regarding the use of agency insignias.'
And the controversies come at a politically sensitive time for the agency.
Since the Butler tragedy resulted in the death of firefighter Corey Comperatore and the brutal injuries of two other rally goers, the agency's top brass have been dragged before Congress to account for their failures.
After testifying weeks after the assassination attempt, Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the department's director.
Days later, her replacement, Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe was forced to testify before Congress on his agency's historic failure.
That hearing, like Cheatle's, quickly devolved into a shouting match asRowe was repeatedly berated by lawmakers.
Lawmakers have also introduced legislation to reform the agency to avoid mistakes.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., told DailyMail.com this week that he introduced two Secret Service-aimed billsafter Trump was saved by 'luck' and not the 'skills' of the protective agency.
A Secret Service agent outside the White House, Washington, DC
Secret Service agents surround trump after he was shot on July 13 before escorting him off stage and into his motorcade vehicle
'We cannot leave the security of a president or a presidential candidate the chance,' the Democrat said.
His legislation, if passed, would increase the protective radius the Secret Service must defend around a protectee and would strip them of their financial crimes responsibilities.
A congressional task force has been established to investigate the Butler rally and multiple investigations into the event by the FBI and DHS are ongoing.
