Lawmakers on Trump assassination task force share rare bipartisan ‘commitment’; omitted reps question absence
There was bipartisan agreement in getting to the bottom of the failures and negligence that led to the attempted assassination of former President Trump upon the naming of a new task force.
After House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., named their nominees to the Trump assassination attempt incident task force, the panel’s members expressed a bipartisan willingness to get to the bottom of how the historic tragedy was able to happen in the first place.
Rep. Mike Kelly, the Pennsylvania Republican whose district includes the Butler Farm Show grounds where the attempt on Trump’s life occurred, was named the panel’s chairman.
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., was named its ranking member. Crow served as a U.S. Army Ranger in the Mideast, and several other panel members have law enforcement or military backgrounds.
Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., who toured the Butler site last week, said the incident transcends party lines and that after his visit to Pennsylvania, he recognized where issues likely occurred.
"In the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Trump, I visited the site with a bipartisan group of my colleagues. It appears there were a number of security lapses – and it appears that this may not have been the first major security lapse for a national political candidate," Correa said.
"This is unacceptable. I’m committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get to the bottom of what actually happened that day and develop policy solutions to ensure we never face a close call like that again."
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who served in the Louisiana National Guard and St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office, was one of the GOP members named to the committee.
Higgins noted the committee will have subpoena power to get to the bottom of what went wrong in Butler and bring accountability to the victims and the American people.
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"I am honored to serve on the bipartisan Task Force on the attempted assassination of President Trump," Higgins said in a statement.
"The American people demand answers, and we will use every tool at our disposal to reveal granular detail of what led to the attempted assassination, ensure accountability, and identify security failures. I look forward to working with my bipartisan colleagues to deliver the truth."
In addition to Kelly, two other Pennsylvanians were named to the panel. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat and Air Force veteran from the Main Line area, and Madeleine Dean from Montgomery County.
Houlahan called her appointment a "distinct and solemn honor" and noted the legislation necessitating the task force passed unanimously.
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"[That] underscore[d] the mandate from Pennsylvanians and all Americans to conduct this investigation free from political influences and divisive rhetoric. I am committed to upholding our values of truth, civility, decency, and patriotism through my work on this task force," she said.
"As a representative of Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the Republic and our American democracy, I believe the recent assassination attempt against former President Trump is a stark reminder of the fragility of our democratic institutions."
Houlahan said the assault went against the "fabric" of America and that all political sides must condemn violence and recognize political differences should never lead to such.
Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee who led the tour of the rally site, said the Department of Homeland Security’s – via the Secret Service – "utter failure to safeguard a former president and current candidate for our nation’s highest office was unacceptable from the start."
"[I]t grows more troubling with each new report and effort by the Biden-Harris administration to stonewall congressional oversight," Green said. "Establishing this task force is a critical step in addressing this failure and ensuring we get the American people the answers they deserve."
Green urged DHS officials to cooperate with the task force’s investigation.
Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, cited his experience of 25 years as a prosecutor in pledging to work diligently to "uncover the facts, demand accountability and ensure these security failures" don’t happen in the future.
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"President Trump, those injured on July 13th, Corey Comperatore’s family, and the American people deserve these answers," Joyce said.
Another Republican member, Laurel Lee of Florida, called out the "inexcusable security failures" of the day and said the Secret Service failed at its "no-fail mission."
Fellow Floridian Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat who attended and represents Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a mass shooting took place several years ago, was also named to the task force.
"As the former Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, I have been involved in after-action reviews to learn from the failures and successes of both natural and man-made disasters," Moskowitz said.
"And as a state representative from Parkland, Florida, where 17 people died in a mass shooting at my alma mater, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, I helped to create the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Commission that investigated the failures of that day."
In a statement Monday, Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., said the "safety and security of our presidential candidates is paramount."
"Getting to the bottom of the security failures which allowed such an attempt is of the utmost importance. Political violence is unacceptable and protecting folks seeking elective office is a step we should take to protect our democratic process," Ivey said.
On X, formerly Twitter, some observers criticized Johnson and Jeffries for not naming other top lawmakers with military experience to the task force.
One such lawmaker, Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., who has helped conduct civilian rescue efforts in Afghanistan, said he wasn’t surprised by being omitted from the list.
"It’s very unfortunate but not surprising for anyone familiar with how D.C. works. I’m not a politician, leadership, or a ‘yes man’," Mills said.
"I wish the members of Speaker Johnson’s task force well," he went on, calling for a parallel investigation with subject-matter experts and whistleblowers rather than politicians.
He also noted Rep. Elijah Crane, a former military sniper who immediately recognized the Butler water tower as a missed vantage for Secret Service, did not make the cut.
"I will be speaking with other members, and although I won’t have subpoena powers, I will personally fund whatever is required for additional staff to further investigate and expose the truth," Mills said.
Other members of the task force include Reps. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., and Pat Fallon, R-Texas.