Oversight Committee Grills Secret Service Director Over Trump Assassination Attempt

If President Biden’s decision Sunday to end his reelection campaign wasn’t enough to electrify the nation’s capital, Monday was also the first congressional hearing on the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

It’s been widely acknowledged that the attempt on Trump's life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, constituted a major operational failure by the U.S. Secret Service and lawmakers on Capitol Hill -- mostly Republicans, but also some Democrats -- have been eager to grill Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle since her agency's apparent missteps began to emerge last week.

Under subpoena, she appeared before the House Oversight Committee Monday morning.

"The assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13 is the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades," Cheatle stated in her opening remarks.

Before a packed hearing room, Cheatle said she takes full responsibility for any lapses in security at the rally but, noting the investigations have just started, was reluctant to confirm many details, frustrating members of the committee.

Chairman James Comer was able to get Cheatle to confirm information that's come out about the shooter, Thomas Crooks, surveilling the site before the rally started.

"Do you know if the shooter used a drone before the shooting?" an exasperated Comer asked.

"That information has been passed along by the FBI," answered Cheatle.

Still, Cheatle faced criticism after criticism, with Chairman Comer setting the tone in his opening statement.

"The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a significant budget," said Rep. Comer (R-KY), "but it has now become the face of incompetence."

Comer and many others, including Oklahoma Congressman Josh Brecheen (R-OK2) have called on Cheatle to resign or be fired. Neither has happened so far.

Cheatle has pledged full cooperation with all investigations and says an initial report on the security breakdowns should be ready in 60 days. Some members said that is unacceptable, and that the investigation needs to move faster, given the intensity of the campaigning between now and November.

"This is not theater, this is not about jockeying," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), "this is about the safety of some of the most highly targeted and highly valued targets internationally and domestically in the United States of America.