House Republicans are moving forward with establishing a bipartisan task force to review the security failures that led to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the latest move by the GOP to hold the Secret Service accountable.
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) is spearheading a bill that would establish a task force composed of no more than 11 members and have no more than five of the 11 members being in the minority. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will be considered “ex officio members” but have no vote, per the bill’s text.
If established, the task force will “investigate and fully examine all actions by any agency, Department, officer, or employee of the federal government, as well as State and local law enforcement or any other State or local government or private entities or individuals” that were present at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
The task force would be expected to release a report no later than Dec. 13. The bill is slated to be considered this week.
Johnson told Fox News in the days following the shooting that the task force would not have many “procedural hurdles” but would have “subpoena authority.”
“There’s real questions. Let’s just put it that way,” Johnson said. “The answers have not been forthcoming. I think they’re gathering data. We’re going to do it as well. We have to have accountability for this. It was inexcusable. Obviously, there were security lapses. You don’t have to be a special-ops expert to understand that.”
This is the latest step by House GOP lawmakers to hold federal law enforcement accountable for the shooting that left Trump injured in the ear and led to the death of Corey Comperatore, a former firefighter chief who died protecting his family from gunfire. Two others were critically injured at the time, but their conditions have since been updated to “serious.”
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Many Republicans have called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign, but Cheatle has insisted she is here to stay. She’s appearing at a House Oversight Committee hearing on Monday to provide testimony on the incident, and she will likely face grueling questions from both parties.
Lawmakers are taking other avenues, as well. A bill introduced by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and co-sponsored by eight other House Republicans would reduce Cheatle’s pay significantly in a move to prompt her resignation.