All Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee have urged its chair, Sen. Dick Durbin, to hold a hearing on the circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump. The request was led by ranking member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, who asked for a hearing to call U.S. Department of Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and FBI Director Christopher Wray as witnesses.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over the three agencies involved; the Secret Service falls under Mayorkas’ leadership. In their letter, the Republican senators expressed their concerns about how a “would-be assassin was able to access a nearby rooftop with a rifle and a line of sight to President Trump.” They emphasized the committee’s responsibility to investigate this incident thoroughly and publicly to understand how it happened and prevent similar incidents in the future.
The letter, dated Monday, was signed by Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.
On the same day as sending the letter, Durbin announced that he had been briefed by FBI Deputy Director Abbate on the investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Trump. He requested a closed-door, in-person briefing next week with USSS, DHS, and the FBI for all Judiciary Committee members when the Senate is back.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., expressed dissatisfaction with the Secret Service briefing some senators had, stating that only four questions were allowed, with the rest of them being required to submit questions and await a response. He also published a letter containing his questions for Mayorkas about the security plan in place for the July 13 rally, all records between the Secret Service, FBI, state and local law enforcement regarding the rally, among other questions.
The U.S. House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed Cheatle to testify, with a hearing scheduled on Wednesday. Several Republican leaders have called for her resignation, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. Johnson announced that he is creating a bipartisan task force to investigate the assassination attempt.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General is also investigating Secret Service security breaches. U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, who chairs the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism, is conducting an investigation as well. He directed his staff to review the actions of the Secret Service before, during, and after the event, and he will be talking to law enforcement officials, Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, among others, to collect all relevant information and take action.
Cheatle will testify before the House committee either willingly or under subpoena, according to Pfluger. He emphasized that “our nation was millimeters away from a presidential assassination,” and as Americans, we must unite together and move forward from this tragedy.
