Leading members of Congress swiftly banded together to denounce the abortive attempt on the life of Donald Trump during a rally on Saturday, ordering briefings and organizing inquiries into the event that left the former president hurt.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., stated on the “TODAY” program on Sunday that “Congress will conduct a thorough investigation of yesterday’s tragedy to find out where security gaps occurred and anything else the American people should and should not be kept in the dark.” However, we must reject the rhetoric in the interim. The temperature in this nation needs to drop.
Johnson added that on Saturday night, he “asked pointed questions” to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and claimed to have “gotten briefings from law enforcement.”
Leading Democrats on Capitol Hill denounced the shooting as well.
“I am pleased that former President Trump is safe and appalled by what transpired at the Trump event in Pennsylvania. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, stated in a statement that “political violence has no place in our country.” Following the incident, his office stated that he had been informed on the most recent developments.
At a hearing on July 22, House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., requested testimony from Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. In a letter on Sunday, House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee, also asked Mayorkas for clarification.
Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., demanded information on the security failure at the Trump rally in a separate letter to Cheatle. He wanted to know if the Trump campaign asked for more protection and if they were turned down.
In his letter, Gallego, a veteran of the armed forces, expressed his deep worries about the security measures—or lack thereof—that were put in place to safeguard a major presidential candidate and a former US president.
In the letter that NBC News first received, Gallego said, “I demand that everyone in charge of creating, approving, and carrying out this botched security plan be held accountable and appear before Congress right now.”
The “Gang of Eight,” which consists of the top four leaders and the top four members of the intelligence committee, had not yet been briefed on the shooting as of late Sunday morning. However, as one source with firsthand knowledge tells NBC News, individual members are in contact with the FBI, Secret Service, administration officials, and law enforcement.
Given the congressional recess and the impending Republican convention, lawmakers are dispersed across the nation, which contributes to the lack of a prompt briefing. The source claimed that coordinating the whole group on a secure connection at once is challenging.
The source also mentioned that it might be too early in the inquiry for this kind of briefing.
Following the incident, representatives Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., declared that they would introduce legislation “granting increased protection from the Secret Service to former President Donald Trump, presidential contender Robert Kennedy Jr., and President Joe Biden.”
Following the attempted assassination, Senate offices received a notification late Saturday from the Senate Notification Center stating that Capitol Police is “not keeping track of any new dangers to Members.”
“Capitol Police are working together to offer extra assistance at events associated with the Republican and Democratic National Conventions,” the notification continued.
A similar notice was sent earlier that evening to House offices, and two persons invited said that lawmakers would get a virtual security briefing on Monday afternoon.
In an effort to “ask the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to explain how this occurred, what efforts are being taken to look into this assassination attempt, and how to ensure that it doesn’t happen again,” Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, called on the Democratic-controlled Senate Homeland Security Committee to hold an investigation into the shooting before August 1.
Two committee members, Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), also requested an investigation.
“In order to hold people accountable and make sure this never happens again, we need additional information and clarification regarding the assassination attempt against former President Trump. In his capacity as a member of the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, Rosen stated on X that he was calling for an investigation hearing.
“I can attest from personal experience that political violence of any form has no place in our society since my family has experienced it,” stated former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California who was herself a target of political violence, in a statement. I give God praise for former President Trump’s safety.