Eleven House Republicans and Democrats arrived in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday morning to tour the backdrop of the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and brief the public on an investigation into the security problems that allowed 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 injured two others, and wounded Trump. on stage.
“This committee continues to seek answers from DHS and the Secret Service about the security breaches” that allowed the attack to occur, Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), the committee’s chairman, said in a news release. Members came to the “to better understand how this near-murder occurred. “
“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 is vital that the bipartisan organization here have that first-hand experience,” he added.
In addition to LaLota, Green and Kelly, Representatives Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Lou Correa (D-CA), Michael Guest (R-MS), Glenn Ivey (D-MD), Carlos Giménez (R-FL), Laurel Lee (R-FL), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), and Eli Crane (R-AZ) attended the tour.
“The biggest wonder it revealed to me was the proximity of the construction 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 assassin, and even then, the would-be assassin was not only able to climb onto the roof, but also lounge on the roof for a while before firing. What we believe to be 8 shots.
For Giménez, what “bothers” him the most is that the gunman is on the roof of the construction. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle claimed that the company tasked with protecting Trump on July 13 had no one stationed on the roof because “this specific construction has a sloping 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,” Giménez said, “I learned that there are local agencies in the Secret Service command centers. ”
He said the assassination attempt could have been prevented if local, state and federal authorities “had communicated with 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 Mayorka, who is uncomfortable with the Secret Service’s arrangements and the Department of Homeland Security’s reaction to the shooting at the rally.
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 shooting at Butler’s rally, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability questioned Cheatle about the “colossal failure” that allowed Thomas Crooks to fire several bullets before being killed by a “single shot. “
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle called on Cheatle to resign from the hearing or he would be fired. After hearing it himself, LaLota criticized the Secret Service director for “stubbornly” refusing to answer questions.
Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) introduced a not-so-easy legislative solution following Cheatle’s firing Monday after the hearing. LaLota said that while he might not have supported his fellow New York Republican’s solution “a day or two ago,” Cheatle’s conduct at the hearing made him nervous because she “added insult to the damage he helped cause on July 13. “” and it didn’t make it any less difficult for Congress to control the shooting.
“Enough is enough,” LaLota said. “She has to go. “
“If she doesn’t leave, the president will have to fire her so that the company can move forward 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, such as President Trump. “
He said “the straw that broke the camel’s back for me” was his delight on the roof where the shooter carried out his alleged murder, where Cheatle said no one was parking because of the slope of the roof.
“The Secret Service reported nothing,” Giménez said. “The security that occurred at President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, is inexcusable. »
At Monday’s hearing, Cheatle has no plans to resign as Secret Service director.
“I think I’m the user leading 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 to blame for the July 13 incident, and Congress deserves to find the members of the Secret Service guilty for their failure. “
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Secret Service for comment.