Senate lawmakers were left with more questions than answers on Wednesday following a conference call with the U.S. Secret Service on the attempted assassination of former President Trump, with one senator calling it “100% cover-your-a– briefing.”
The Secret Service privately briefed the senators as questions still remain about how the gunman who shot Trump was able to get on a roof roughly 200 yards from where he was speaking to supporters.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said the meeting was a “100% cover-your-a– briefing” as the Secret Service and its director, Kimberly Cheatle, continue to come under scrutiny.
His office said “no one has taken responsibility” despite the gunman having been “identified as being suspicious one hour before the shooting.”
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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally on Saturday in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“He had a rangefinder and a backpack. The Secret Service lost sight of him. No one has taken responsibility. No one has been held responsible. Someone has died. The president was almost killed. The head of the Secret Service needs to go,” Barrasso said, referring to Cheatle.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said she was “appalled” after learning the Secret Service knew about a threat prior to Trump walking on stage in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I have no confidence in the leadership of Director Cheatle and believe it is in the best interest of our nation if she steps down from her position,” she wrote on X after Wednesday’s briefing.
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the country deserves answers and accountability, while calling for Cheatle to step down.
Meanwhile, more than two dozen Texas lawmakers are calling for the House Oversight Committee to look into “political rhetoric” used against Trump prior to the shooting. Republican State Rep. Ellen Troxclair spearheaded a letter to the committee and Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., on Wednesday, requesting they also look into “grotesque depictions of President Trump and the tens of millions of fellow Americans that support him as ‘enemies’ or ‘threats to democracy’ ahead of the assassination attempt.”
“Americans deserve answers,” the lawmakers wrote, first thanking the committee for opening an investigation into the deadly incident. “At minimum, we need to understand how the attempted assassination was able to occur and what will be done to ensure it does not happen again.”
On Monday, Cheatle said the Secret Service would cooperate with an independent review announced by President Biden.
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“The Secret Service is working with all involved federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again. We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday and will participate fully,” she said.