Secret Service sees no need to adjust RNC safety plans, procedures

"We are confident in the plans that we have and are moving forward with those plans," said Secret Service RNC coordinator Audrey Gibson-Cicchino, taking questions.

The Secret Service came under fire for its apparent security failures that resulted in a would-be assassin gaining access to a rooftop just 130 yards away from Donald Trump, with a clear line of sight, at the president's rally in Butler, PA. The gunman fired eight bullets, one of which wounded Trump, another that killed a Trump supporter. Two others were injured.

According to the agency, the security measures in place have been an 18-month multi-agency effort and the RNC convention has been classified as a national special security event, the highest level of security designation given by the federal government. The Secret Service said it would not be expanding its security perimeter, which allows firearms to be carried in a "soft perimeter" near the facility, despite anti-Trump demonstrators' plans to protest near the soft perimeter. The Secret Service said the soft perimeter is under the jurisdiction of Milwaukee police.

"We've worked together over that 18 months to develop operational security plans for any and all aspects of security related to this event," Gibson-Cicchino told reporters. "We're not anticipating any changes to our operational security plans for this event...We've had an extensive planning process to include many organizations building out the operational security plans for any and all aspects of security related to this event."

A reporter asked Gibson-Cicchino why Trump and his family members should feel safe to attend the event this week after the attempted assassination of the former president, to which she replied: "This event is the highest level of security for an event that can be designated by the federal government."

Trump, 78, departed for Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon after scrapping plans to push his arrival back by two days following his attempted assassination. His wife, former First Lady Melania Trump, and his children Barron Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump, plan on attending the convention where Trump will officially accept his party's nomination for president. It's unclear if his daughters Ivanka and Tiffany will be attending.

Critics have since called for the resignation of Biden's Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion goals rather than focusing on safety. Congress demanded Cheatle testify on July 22 over what panned out at Trump's rally in Butler, PA. Nearly 50,000 Republicans will be attending the RNC convention starting on Monday, with delegates from across the country.