Rep. Mike Kelly tapped to lead bipartisan House task force on Trump assassination attempt
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly will chair a House committee that will investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Kelly's hometown of Butler.
The Pennsylvania Republican, who represents the 16th Congressional District, was appointed by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to lead the bipartisan task force, which will include seven Republicans and six Democrats. Kelly sponsored the legislation to form the task force, which was approved last week.
In a statement, Kelly thanked Johnson for entrusting him in with the "important and solemn role" and he said the task force must "set politics aside" to "restore the faith, trust and confidence" in our government."
Assassination attempt
Minutes into a rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds on July 13, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire with an AR-style rifle from the roof of a building near where Trump was speaking. Crooks killed one attendee, Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter who was attempting to shield his wife and daughters when he was struck in the head, and injured two others, who have since been released from the hospital. One of the bullets or bullet fragments grazed Trump's right ear, according to the FBI.
Crooks was killed by U.S. Secret Service sniper fire, which came from an agent positioned on the roof of another building.
'Security breakdowns'
The U.S. Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies at the rally have faced questions about how Crooks was able to get on the roof and open fire. Reports indicate that several people, including law enforcement, spotted Crooks before the incident and reported him as suspicious. Secret Service snipers spotted Crooks on the roof 20 minutes before the shooting.
Former U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was forced to resign July 23, a day after a House Oversight Committee hearing in which lawmakers from both parties called on her to step down.
"It's critical that we investigate, detail, and explain the security breakdowns that tragically killed one person, injured two others, and nearly claimed President Trump's life," Kelly said in a statement. "We must never let something like this happen again. The American people have a right to know what happened. Congress has a responsibility to find out."
More: Investigation into Trump shooting started within minutes on the roof, but questions linger
The task force
Other members of the task force:
Republicans
Rep. Mark Green, Tennessee
Rep. David Joyce, Ohio
Rep. Laurel Lee, Florida
Rep. Michael Waltz, Florida
Rep. Pat Fallon, Texas
Rep. Clay Higgins, Louisiana
Democrats
Ranking member Rep. Jason Crow, Colorado
Rep. Lou Correa, California
Rep. Madeleine Dean, Pennsylvania
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, Pennsylvania
Rep. Glenn Ivey, Maryland
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, Florida
What they said
Johnson and Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a joint statement about the bipartisan task force:
“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.
The latest
On Tuesday, members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees held a hearing on the assassination attempt, questioning the new acting director of the Secret Service, Ronald Rowe, and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. In his opening statement, Rowe characterized the security measures taken to protect Trump and rallygoers as a "failure on multiple levels."
Matthew Rink can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @ETNRink.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Trump assassination attempt: Kelly to lead probe on security failures