Current:Home > reviewsHouse Republicans ramp up investigations into Trump assassination attempt -EverVision Finance
House Republicans ramp up investigations into Trump assassination attempt
View
Date:2025-04-17 03:41:26
Washington — House Republicans are ramping up efforts to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and the apparent security lapses that allowed a gunman to get within striking distance of the GOP presidential nominee.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed alarm about how the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to open fire at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania, striking the former president in the ear, killing one attendee and seriously injuring two others. Republicans' ire has been directed at federal law enforcement leaders, with some sporadic calls for agency heads to step down.
Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Wednesday that he will create a special task force within the House to investigate the attack on Trump, saying in a social media post that "we need answers for these shocking security failures."
Johnson elaborated on Fox News, saying that he plans to set the task force up on Monday and explaining that it will work as a "precision strike," able to move quickly by avoiding some procedural hurdles that other investigatory avenues face in Congress. Johnson said it would be a bipartisan task force, made up of both Republicans and Democrats.
The Louisiana Republican said he spoke with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who he said "did not have satisfactory answers" about the attack. Johnson said he's also spoken with law enforcement leaders, saying "the answers have not been forthcoming." And he made clear that he plans to call for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign.
Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee announced on that it will hold a hearing next week on the FBI's investigation into the assassination attempt, with FBI Director Christopher Wray set to testify.
The developments come as a flurry of hearings are scheduled for next week to grill agency heads about the security failure. The House Oversight Committee asked Cheatle to appear on July 22, issuing a subpoena for her testimony on Wednesday when her attendance appeared in question.
"Americans demand accountability and transparency about the Secret Service's failures that led to the attempted assassination of President Trump, but they aren't getting that from President Biden's Department of Homeland Security," Oversight committee chairman James Comer said in a statement accompanying the subpoena. "We have many questions for Director Cheatle about the Secret Service's historic failure and she must appear before the House Oversight Committee next week."
Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security Mark Green also invited Mayorkas, Wray, and Cheatle to testify before the committee on July 23.
"It is imperative that we partner to understand what went wrong, and how Congress can work with the departments and agencies to ensure this never happens again," Green, a Tennessee Republican, said in a statement.
Later Wednesday, both the House and Senate will receive briefings on the assassination attempt from Justice Department, Secret Service and FBI officials, multiple sources familiar with the briefing told CBS News. Efforts to investigate the assassination attempt in the Senate are underway as well.
President Biden said earlier this week that he is directing an independent review of security and events at the rally to determine what went wrong, while the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general is opening an investigation into the rally's planning.
Kaia HubbardKaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
TwitterveryGood! (67342)
Related
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Mississippi man arrested on charges of threatening Jackson County judge
- Coco Gauff loses an argument with the chair umpire and a match to Donna Vekic at the Paris Olympics
- The Latest: Project 2025’s director steps down, and Trump says Harris ‘doesn’t like Jewish people’
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Hit with falling sales, McDonald's extends popular $5 meal deal, eyes big new burger
- Paychecks grew more slowly this spring, a sign inflation may keep cooling
- US-Mexico border arrests are expected to drop 30% in July to a new low for Biden’s presidency
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- Hit with falling sales, McDonald's extends popular $5 meal deal, eyes big new burger
Ranking
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Paris Olympics highlights: Simone Biles and Co. win gold; USA men's soccer advances
- Body found of SU student reported missing in July; 3 arrested, including mother of deceased’s child
- Severe storms in the Southeast US leave 1 dead and cause widespread power outages
- California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Is This TikTok-Viral Lip Liner Stain Worth the Hype? See Why One E! Writer Thinks So
- US suspends $95 million in aid to Georgia after passage of foreign agent law that sparked protests
- 'Absolutely incredible:' Kaylee McKeown, Regan Smith put on show in backstroke final
Recommendation
Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
2024 Paris Olympics: Paychecks for Team USA Gold Medal Winners Revealed
The best 3-row SUVs with captain's seats that command comfort
Jason Kelce’s appearance ‘super cool’ for Olympic underdog USA field hockey team
Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
Kathie Lee Gifford Hospitalized With Fractured Pelvis
Texas’ floating Rio Grande barrier can stay for now, court rules as larger legal battle persists
Kentucky judge dismisses lawsuit challenging a new law to restrict the sale of vaping products