House Leaders Name Members of Trump Assassination Task Force

Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed offstage during a rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Military veterans and former prosecutors are among the members of a special U.S. House of Representatives task force that plans to probe the attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump.

Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), a former U.S. Army major and and emergency room physician; Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) who served in the U.S. Army Special Forces; and Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), a former prosecutor, are three of the members tapped by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to serve on the body, the leaders announced on July 29.

The House unanimously voted on July 24 to approve a resolution to create the task force, but the members were not known until Monday.

The seven Republican members also include Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), a businessman; Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), a former county prosecutor; Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), a former federal prosecutor and state judge; Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), a former U.S. Army staff sergeant and police officer; and Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), a former U.S. Air Force officer.

Along with Mr. Ivey, the Democrats on the committee are Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a former U.S. Army Ranger; Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.), a longtime lawmaker; Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), a lawyer and former teacher; Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), a former U.S. Air Force officer; and Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), the onetime director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

The task force will have the ability to issue subpoenas as it investigates the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump, which occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania. The task force must produce a report on the assassination attempt by Dec. 13. The task force has also been directed to recommend how Congress can take legislative steps to prevent future assassination attempts.

Mr. Johnson and Mr. Jeffries in a joint statement said the task force will “move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability, and make certain such failures never happen again.”

Officials have said Thomas Crooks, who they identified as the shooter, should not have been able to get a clear view of the former president from a building approximately 430 feet from where he was speaking during the outdoor rally. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned on July 23, said on the day prior that the shooting was the agency’s “most significant operational failure in decades.”

The FBI is also investigating the assassination attempt with help from the Pennsylvania State Police, while the Secret Service is conducting an internal probe and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is investigating what happened.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has also named members to a panel to finish an independent review of actions taken by federal, state, and local authorities before, during, and after the rally.

Members include Janey Napolitano, a former secretary of homeland security; Frances Townsend, a former federal homeland security official, and David Mitchell, former superintendent of the Maryland State Police.