Secret Service Accountability

On Saturday, July 13th, 2024, the nation was shocked to its core. It was on this day that President Trump almost had his life taken away in Pennsylvania. This assassination attempt left others injured and tragically resulted in the passing of Corey Comperatore. In the immediate aftermath, it was clear that the Secret Service director had failed to protect the candidate for President of the United States for the Republican Party. The Secret Service had a no-fail mission, and unfortunately, they failed. In the days and weeks following, we have seen countless examples of security failures. This has left Congress and America with more questions than answers. A major function of the legislative branch is oversight, and we must get to the bottom of what happened on July 13th to ensure it cannot happen to a Presidential candidate of any party ever again.

When Director Cheatle testified in front of the House Oversight Committee, I was appalled at her inability to answer questions and her lack of forthcomingness. While I'm pleased that she has resigned, we must shore up the security failures that occurred and take steps to modernize the agency, which is responsible for safeguarding the President, former presidents, and leading presidential candidates. To that end, I was pleased to support the establishment of a bipartisan task force which will investigate the assassination attempt of President Trump. This commission, which is composed of seven Republicans and six Democrats, will work to uncover all the facts on July 13th and the shortcomings that were present under Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. I am confident that under the leadership of Chairman Kelly, this task force will leave no stone unturned and work diligently to provide the American people with much-needed answers.

Over the years, many Americans have lost their faith in Congress’s ability to function in a bipartisan manner. In this moment, I was pleased to see that there was unanimous support for this investigation. We must set politics aside and work together to prevent a situation like this from occurring again in the future. The right to vote for the candidate of your choosing is ingrained in our Constitution, and our political leaders should be protected no matter their party. I’m eagerly awaiting the results of this commission and looking forward to working with my colleagues to get answers for the American people.