House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) wants the director of the Secret Service to resign after former President Donald Trump was shot at a campaign rally on Saturday while she was in charge.
The rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, resulted in the death of the former president and the murder of former firefighter Corey Comperatore, despite a massive Secret Service presence.
“I’m going to call for his resignation,” Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said Wednesday morning on Fox News. “Look, I think it’s inexcusable.”
Johnson also announced that he will create an independent task force to investigate the shooting.
He said the special task force would conduct a “precision strike” to determine how a former president and current presidential candidate could be so easily targeted.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, wants the director of the Secret Service to resign after former President Donald Trump was shot Saturday at a campaign rally under her watch.
“I’m going to set up a special task force in the House on Monday,” Johnson said. “And the reason we’re going to do it that way is because it’s a more precise attack.”
Johnson explained that the task force would move more quickly than if a commission were created, saying there would be fewer “procedural hurdles.”
“It’s faster, there aren’t as many procedural hurdles, and we also have the authority to subpoena that task force.”
The speaker said the task force has the authority to issue subpoenas because Biden administration officials could try to intervene.
Republicans are particularly concerned that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Cheatle’s boss, could intervene to prevent her from appearing before the Oversight Committee on Monday.
“We’re hearing rumors this morning that Mayorkas may not allow her to attend,” Johnson said.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is expected to testify before Congress next week
Donald Trump clenches his fist after being shot as his Secret Service escorts him away from the stage during his rally in Butler, PA on Saturday
Cheatle is also expected to appear before the House Homeland Security Committee next week.
Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray have also been invited to testify before that panel.
“It is imperative that we work together to understand what went wrong and how Congress can work with the departments and agencies to ensure this never happens again,” committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said in a statement announcing the meeting.
But despite Mayorkas and Wray becoming embroiled in this tragic event, Cheatle is ultimately responsible for the former president’s safety.
“It’s clear that the responsibility lies with her office,” he said.
Hours after the shooting, the speaker had a phone call with Mayorkas to discuss the horrific event.
“He didn’t have any satisfactory answers at that time,” Johnson said of the minister’s briefing.
The Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump
Secret Service snipers stand guard over former President Trump moments before he was shot
Image of shooting suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks
U.S. Secret Service agents surround the stage as other agents keep an eye on Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally,
New footage shows Secret Service protecting Trump as he escorts him out of meeting
The Republican also revealed that he had spoken to top officials from the FBI and the National Security Council about the attempted assassination in Butler.
“Let’s put it this way: the answers haven’t come,” he said of the talks.
“I think they’re collecting data,” he continued. “We’re going to do that too.”
“We must be held accountable for this. It was unforgivable.”
The DHS Inspector General is also conducting an internal investigation into the attempted assassination.