Bombshell Report Finds Trump Homeland Safety Failed To Improve Safety On 1/6

A new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that Trump’s Homeland Security Department did not specially designate 1/6 for increased security.

The GAO Found That Trump’s Homeland Security Did Not Increase 1/6 Security

The events of January 6 included 1) a non-permitted protest at the U.S. Capitol, 2) a scheduled Presidential rally at the Ellipse, and 3) a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 election results. If requested, the Presidential rally and joint session of Congress could have been considered for a designation as an NSSE or SEAR because, for example, they were large events with Presidential or Vice Presidential attendance. However, according to DHS officials, the non-permitted incident at the U.S. Capitol was not consistent with factors currently used for NSSE and SEAR designations. This non-permitted incident was not designated, even though there were other indications, such as social media posts, that additional security may have been needed at the Capitol Complex on January 6. While DHS has developed factors for designating an event an NSSE, it is not clear whether they are adaptable to the current environment of emerging threats. Being able to be dynamic and responsive to change would enable federal entities to implement better security planning.

Further, although Secret Service officials stated that a request from the local government in Washington, D.C. would typically initiate consideration for an NSSE designation, D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency officials indicated that they did not think the District Government had the authority to request an NSSE designation for an event on federal property.

Trump had incompetent political hack Chad Wolf running Homeland Security at the time, so it is not a surprise that a Trump loyalist would make sure that extra security precautions were not in place on 1/6.

The Security Failure On 1/6 Was Not Speaker Pelosi’s Fault

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) and Rep. Jason Crow (CO-06) said in a joint statement provided to PoliticusUSA, “ Today’s report makes it clear that confusion around the Department of Homeland Security’s process for designating certain events as ‘special events’ led to a security plan that was insufficient to meet the potential threat.”

Speaker Pelosi is not in charge of Homeland Security. Donald Trump was.  The Republican attempts to blame the Speaker have always been bogus, but as reports like the ones being done by the GAO are being made public, the one common thread running through all of the failures is the Trump administration.

Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association