House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday revealed the names of the thirteen lawmakers who will serve on the task force to investigate the security failures that led to the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
During the rally on July 13, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks somehow managed to climb onto a roof only 410 feet away from the stage and fire off a round of shots that grazed Trump’s ear, critically wounded two rallygoers, and killed a retired fireman.
The newly created task force will be made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats and will have subpoena authority.
Johnson chose Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), who represents Butler, Pa., to Chair the panel. The Pennsylvania congressman was reportedly present at the rally on July 13 and sitting in the front row when the shooting occurred. Kelly has “longstanding ties to the local law enforcement community and is the author of the resolution creating the Task Force,” Johnson said in a statement.
Rep. Jason Crow (Colo.), a former Army Ranger and Bronze Star recipient, will serve on the panel as the Democrat ranking member. Crow also sits on the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees.
The other Republicans appointed to the task force include Reps. Mark Green (Tenn.), the chair of the Homeland Security Committee; David Joyce (Ohio); Laurel Lee (Fla.); Michael Waltz (Fla.); Clay Higgins (La.); and Pat Fallon (Texas).
Johnson laid out the qualifications for each of the Republican appointees on X.
[Rep. Green] is a former U.S. Army major, combat veteran, and E.R. physician. He is the current Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
[Rep. Joyce] served as an attorney and county prosecutor for 25 years and is former Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
[Rep. Lee] is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, a former judge for Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit, and former Florida Secretary of State. She serves on the Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees.
[Rep. Waltz] is retired from the U.S. Army Special Forces and is a former White House and Pentagon advisor. He serves on the Intelligence, Armed Services, and Oversight Committees.
[Rep. Higgins] is a former U.S. Army staff sergeant and former law enforcement officer who maintains an active commission and Peace Officer’s Standards and Training (POST) certification. He serves on the Homeland Security and Oversight Committees.
[Rep. Fallon] is a former U.S. Air Force officer, and serves on the Oversight and Armed Services Committees, and their respective subcommittees dealing with Tactical Air and Land Forces and National Security.
The five other Democrat appointees are Reps. Lou Correa (Calif.), Madeleine Dean (Pa.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Glenn Ivey (Md.) and Jared Moskowitz (Fla.).
“We have the utmost confidence in this bipartisan group of steady, highly qualified and capable Members of Congress to move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability and help make certain such failures never happen again,” Johnson and Jeffries said in a joint statement.
The creation of the task force was authorized last week in a rare unanimous roll call vote.
Johnson said the task force “will be empowered with subpoena authority” and will have three primary responsibilities: “We have to get the answers, of course, about what happened. We need to make sure that accountability is ensured to the American people. And then we need to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.”
The task force intends to produce a final report by Dec. 13, with a number of interim reports along the way.
The House Oversight Committee held a grueling hearing with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle last week, which resulted in bipartisan calls for her to step down. She resigned from her post the following day.
The House Homeland Security Committee has also been investigating the security failures, “with Green leading a bipartisan group of lawmakers to tour the Butler, Pa., rally and hosting local law enforcement personnel for a hearing on Tuesday,” the Hill reported.
Additionally, several government agencies have launched investigations into the assassination attempt, including the FBI, the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and DHS’s inspector general.
DHS inspector general Joseph Cuffari announced last Wednesday that he had launched two investigations into the Secret Service’s handling of security at the Trump rally, one to examine the process implemented by the USSS to secure Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and one to examine the USSS Counter Sniper Team preparedness and operations.
Start the discussion at community.amgreatness.com