Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to step down Wednesday as criticism of the agency’s response to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump grows.
Johnson joins other high-profile Republicans such as House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA), among others, in asking for her resignation.
“I’m going to call for resignation as well,” Johnson said on Fox News when asked whether Cheatle should resign. “I think it’s inexcusable.”
Cheatle has already said she will not step down despite an apparent security failure that allowed a shooter to graze Trump, kill one man, and seriously injure two others. Investigations prompted by President Joe Biden, the House of Representatives, and the Senate have begun into the assassination attempt, and Johnson said he will create a congressional task force to consolidate investigations.
“We’re going to move quickly,” Johnson said. “I’ll be setting up on Monday … a special task force within the House. And the reason we’re going to do it that way is because that is a more of a precision strike.”
The task force will not have many “procedural hurdles” but will have “subpoena authority” and will include both Republicans and Democrats, Johnson said. He added that he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI leaders, and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
“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.”
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A bill introduced by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) that was co-sponsored by eight other House Republicans would reduce Cheatle’s pay significantly in a move to prompt her resignation.
Cheatle has and likely will continue to face harsh criticism in the coming weeks from both parties as Trump came within inches of losing his life at a campaign rally.