(USNewsBreak.com) – Following the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life on Saturday, July 13, the Secret Service came under scrutiny. The director of the federal agency initially resisted resigning, but following unending controversy, decided to step down. That has cast the Secret Service — and its failures — into the spotlight and there are multiple probes underway. Congress has decided to get involved and the Lower Chamber recently voted to establish a task force dedicated to getting answers.
On Wednesday, July 24, both parties in the House joined together to vote unanimously, 416-0, in a show of unity to create a panel to probe the assassination attempt. It will consist of 13 members comprised of seven Republican and six Democratic representatives, who will have subpoena authority. House leaders, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) released a statement on the matter, saying the task force “will move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability, and make certain such failures never happen again.”
Yesterday, by a vote of 416-0, the House established a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempted assassination of Donald J. Trump.
Chairman @michaelcburgess brought the measure to the floor as part of the Committee's original jurisdiction.
His full statement ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/nEO34F5Di4
— House Rules Committee (@RulesReps) July 25, 2024
The panel, according to Johnson, will be those who have “expertise in the areas in question.” It is not clear who is sitting on it, but there were objections by the House Freedom Caucus, a far-right faction, to including Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee. Thompson later rendered that objection moot when he said he had no interest in participating.
The vote to create the task force came just two days after former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified before Congress and one day after she resigned. The lead sponsor of the resolution to create the panel, Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) said “The people of Butler and the people of the United States deserve answers.”
Trump has claimed that the Secret Service didn’t provide him adequate protection while he was campaigning and said he was proud to “take a bullet for democracy.”
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