OAN Staff James Meyers
1:15 PM – Tuesday, July 23, 2024
On Tuesday, GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced that they are establishing a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempted assassination of 45th President Donald Trump, which occurred on July 13th.
“The security failures that allowed an assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life are shocking. In response to bipartisan demands for answers, we are announcing a House Task Force made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats to thoroughly investigate the matter,” Johnson (R-La.) and Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a joint statement. “The task force will be empowered with subpoena authority and will move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability, and make certain such failures never happen again.”
Johnson (R-La.) told Fox News last week that the task force would be forthcoming and will have subpoena power. The objective of the task force is to review the security failures that led to the shooting, to seek accountability, and to prevent an assassination attempt from ever happening again in the U.S.
Additionally, the task force is set to have 13 members, which will be composed of six Democrats and seven Republicans, according to the resolution. Representative Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), who was in the front row at Trump’s rally during the assassination attempt, is the lead sponsor of the resolution.
Meanwhile, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said that the resolution would likely have a vote on Wednesday evening.
Emmer also expressed that he anticipates the task force will receive the necessary support, saying that it was “his understanding” that Johnson and Jeffries had made all the details clear and orderly.
The announcement of the task force comes after U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday amid ongoing calls for her to be fired or step down from the position for the security failures that transpired at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
After Trump miraculously moved his head at the perfect time, the shooting only left the former GOP president’s ear injured. However, one rally attendee sadly passed away after guarding his family from bullets, and two others were severely injured as well. Soon after, the 20-year-old shooting suspect was fatally shot by Secret Service counter snipers.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
