Lawmakers in the House and Senate said Sunday they would investigate the alleged assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, demanding documents and testimony from the U.S. Secret Service, while others took steps to beef up security for presidential candidates.
At the heart of the maelstrom on Capitol Hill are questions being asked by Republicans and Democrats alike about the agency charged with protecting Trump and top U.S. leaders, including how a gunman was able to open fire on someone under the agency’s protection.
House Speaker James Comer (R-Ky.) called for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear before the committee next week, and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tennessee) requested documents, details and a briefing regarding the security plan for Trump’s rally Saturday in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
In a three-page letter released Sunday, Green raised “serious concerns about how a shooter could gain access to a rooftop within range and direct line of sight of where President Trump was speaking.”
Later, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced a separate plan investigation into the shooting, which officials say left one rally attendee dead and two others wounded. Trump said on social media that he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” The shooter, identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pa., was killed by the Secret Service.
Peters and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were scheduled to speak Sunday, and committee staff was scheduled to receive a briefing from the department.
The House sergeant-at-arms held a phone call with Republicans in the House of Representatives, who were told to expect increased security at the party. convention this week in Milwaukee, according to people familiar with the conversation. Lawmakers also were told they could request additional security in their districts.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) opened the call by calling on Republicans and Democrats to lower the temperature, according to members who participated in the call. He also asked that Democrats specifically tone down their rhetoric in claiming that a Trump victory in the November election would mean the “end of democracy” or a “national emergency,” according to one member who, like several others, requested anonymity to discuss what was said.
Members who spoke called for accountability during the call and largely expressed concerns about the Secret Service and why the shooting was not prevented.
“It’s unthinkable, it’s incomprehensible,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio) said in an interview with CNN. “We have to know: Was this a protocol error? Was this a resource issue? Or is this simply a mistake by those who were on the ground that day?”
Other potential investigations will be considered after the Republican convention, a person briefed on the discussion said. They could examine the Secret Service’s security protocols and resources, and whether adequate funding has been allocated to former presidents, presidential candidates and those in need of protection, the person said.
President Biden said in a brief speech at the White House on Sunday that he would also conduct a review of the Secret Service’s planning ahead of the meeting and the agency’s response after the shooting.
Not all members agreed with the rush to ask questions the planning and response of the Secret Service, including Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), who witnessed the bloodshed at the meeting from the front row and the reaction of those who safely got Trump off the stage.
“There’s a danger in saying these people weren’t doing their job — when I saw them running to save the president, they were doing their job,” Kelly said in a brief interview with The Washington Post. “We need to step back and let the process play out.”
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a war veteran who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, sent a separate letter to Cheatle asking for details about the agency’s activities. planning around the rally, including information on threat assessments, any deficiencies in the protocol and requests for additional resources. Gallego also asked that the agency “reconsider the denial of protection” for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for president as an independent.
“This was a security failure at the highest levels, not seen since the attempted assassination of President Reagan” in 1981, Gallego wrote. “This cannot be allowed to happen, and I demand accountability.”
Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Michael Lawler (R-N.Y.) introduced a bill Sunday that would also propose enhanced protections for all major presidential candidates.
“Anything less would be a disservice to our democracy,” the two said in a joint statement.
Abigail Hauslohner contributed to this report.
