Speaker Johnson Announces Bipartisan House Task Force to Investigate Trump Assassination Attempt

Former President Donald Trump (R) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hold a news conference at the former president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on April 12, 2024. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on July 17 that he would establish a task force in the House of Representatives to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13.

Former President Trump was grazed on his right ear by a bullet fired by Thomas Matthew Crooks during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The incident was the first time in more than 40 years that a U.S. president was injured in an assassination attempt.

While two House committees—the Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Homeland Security Committee—are already investigating the incident, Mr. Johnson said the task force will be able to examine the matter quickly. He said that existing investigations would be centralized in the speaker’s office.

“The reason we’re going to do it that way is because that is a more precision strike. It goes quicker. There’s not a lot of procedural hurdles,” Mr. Johnson told Fox News in an interview on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17.

“They will have subpoena authority for that task force, as well. It'll be comprised of Republicans and Democrats to get down to the bottom of this quickly, so the American people can get the answers that they deserve.”

No ‘Satisfactory Answers’ Yet

Mr. Johnson said that the task force’s creation was prompted in part by his dissatisfaction with the federal government’s response to the incident.

“Within hours, I was on the phone with Secretary Mayorkas at Homeland Security. He did not have satisfactory answers at that time. I’ve since spoken to leaders of the FBI [and] the Director of National Intelligence,” Mr. Johnson said.

The Oversight Committee was scheduled to receive a briefing from the Secret Service on July 16, although it was later canceled after the Department of Homeland Security didn’t confirm a time, a spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

Congressional scrutiny is primarily on the U.S. Secret Service, which provides protection for former President Trump and was responsible for securing the rally on July 13. Mr. Johnson called for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle during his interview.

“Her explanation to the media, that there was a slant on the roof so there was safety concerns? ... I think she’s shown where her priorities are,” he said.

Ms. Cheatle has indicated that she will not resign, although she took responsibility for security at the rally in an interview with CNN on July 16.

“The Secret Service is totally responsible for the design and implementation and the execution of the site,” she said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters at a White House news briefing on July 16 that he has “100 percent confidence in the director of the United States Secret Service.”

While the Oversight and Homeland Security committees announced that they would hold hearings on July 22 and July 23, respectively, Mr. Johnson said he wasn’t sure whether Ms. Cheatle would attend.

“We’re hearing rumblings this morning that Mayorkas may not allow her to attend,” he told Fox News.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service did not respond to requests for comment before publication.