Eleven House Republicans and Democrats arrived in Butler, Pennsylvania, Monday morning at the site of the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and to brief the public on an investigation into the security breach that enabled the attack.
Members of the House Homeland Security Committee were joined in Butler by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), who was involved in the shooting that killed one aide, seriously wounded two others and wounded Trump at the scene.
“This committee continues to seek answers from DHS and the Secret Service about the security lapses” that allowed the attack to occur, Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), chairman of the committee, said in a statement. Press Release. He added that members need to “better understand how this near-murder took place. “
“We’ve read dozens of reports about this,” Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “But we wanted to set our eyes on the scene itself. . . and give a true human dimension to the event” to illuminate his understanding of the decisions made through secrecy and the “failures that led to the death of a user and the injury of two people”. Array and that we almost lost President Trump.
LaLota explained that he and his colleagues were seeking “a human understanding of the building’s proximity to the stage, fence and perimeters” of their visit to the site.
“It’s vital that the bipartisan organization is here and can have that experience firsthand,” he added.
In addition to LaLota, Green and Kelly, Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Lou Correa (D-CA), Michael Guest (R-MS), Glenn Ivey (D-MD), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Laurel Lee (R-FL), Josh Brecheen (R-OK) and Eli Crane (R-AZ) attended the visit.
“The biggest wonder that revealed to me was the proximity of the building where the shooter was positioned [at the scene],” LaLota said. “And how can a law enforcement officer. . . in the building adjacent to the would-be killer, and yet the would-be killer was able to not only climb onto the roof, but also lounge on the roof for a while before shooting. What We believe there are 8 shots.
For Giménez, it is the shot at the roof of the building that “bothers” him the most. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said the company tasked with protecting Trump on July 13 did not have anyone stationed on the roof because “this specific building has a sloped roof. “
“I can run on this roof all day and I’m 70 years old,” Gimenez told the Washington Examiner. He also posted a video of himself on the roof for X and said, “If I can get on that roof, anyone can just. “
“Today,” Gimenez said, “I learned that there were local agencies in the Secret Service command centers. “
He said the assassination attempt could have been prevented if local, state and federal authorities had “reached out to others. “
“This gap and lack of communication and teamwork between them is beyond failure,” he added.
Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter on July 14 and a subpoena on July 19 to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, not comfortable with the Secret Service arrangements and the reaction of the Department of Homeland Security in response to the shooting at the demonstration.
The committee invited Mayorkas, Cheatle and FBI Director Christopher Wray to testify at a hearing Tuesday, and members investigated by contacting DHS officials and speaking with Cheatle and FBI Deputy Director Robert Wells.
As the House Homeland Security Committee filmed the Butler rally shooting, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee questioned Cheatle about the “colossal failure” that allowed Thomas Crooks to fire several bullets before die from a “single shot. “
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle called for Cheatle to resign or be fired at the hearing. After hearing it himself, LaLota criticized the Secret Service director for “stubbornly” refusing to answer questions.
Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) presented a far from easy legislative solution to Cheatle’s firing Monday after the hearing. LaLota said that while he might not have supported his New York Republican colleague’s solution “a day or two ago,” Cheatle’s conduct at the hearing put him over the edge because it “added insult to the damage she helped cause in July. ” ”. 13” and did not facilitate congressional oversight of the shooting.
“Enough is enough,” LaLota said. She has to go. “
“If she doesn’t need to leave, the president wants to fire her so that the company can move on and regain the public’s trust,” he added.
Gimenez echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “The director of the Secret Service resigns immediately. He said Cheatle “has proven incapable of leading the company and ensuring the protection of those in imminent danger, like President Trump. “
He said “the straw that broke the camel’s back for me” was his delight in the roof where the shooter carried out his alleged murder, where Cheatle said no one parked due to the sloping nature of the roof.
“The Secret Service didn’t report anything,” Gimenez said. The security that occurred at President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, is unforgivable. »
At Monday’s hearing, Cheatle has no plans to resign as director of the Secret Service.
“I think I’m the user to lead the Secret Service right now,” she said.
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“Elections deserve to be through votes, not bullets,” LaLota said. “The Secret Service remains guilty for the July 13 incident, and Congress deserves to hold the members of the Secret Service guilty for their failure. »
The Washington Examiner has contacted the Secret Service for comment.