The House of Representatives on Wednesday night approved a measure to establish a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania.
The House approved a resolution to establish the working group in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 416 to 0.
The measure was passed as lawmakers seek answers and accountability after the 2024 Republican presidential candidate was shot during a rally in Pennsylvania this month.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, They announced the panel earlier this week and said he will have the full investigative authority of the House, including subpoena power. It will be composed of seven Republicans and six Democrats. chosen by Johnson and Jeffries, who have not yet announced their selections.
The House Freedom Caucus, a far-right group of members, urged House leaders to keep at least one Democrat, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, outside the working group.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, and Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said they The working group will seek understand what went wrong on July 13, the day of the shooting; ensure accountability; and prevent such a failure by law enforcement from happening again.
Upon completion of his investigation, The panel will make recommendations to relevant government agencies and suggest legislation necessary to implement reforms.
The resolution establishing the task force was introduced by Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, whose district includes Butler County, where the assassination attempt on Donald Trump took place.
Several investigations into the attack on Trump are underway
Several federal agencies have launched their own investigations into the attempted assassination, including the FBI and the Secret Service.
At the Department of Homeland Security, its internal watchdog is investigating security failures that allowed the gunman to access a roof near where Trump was speaking.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas He also appointed an independent panel to investigate the shooting, by order of President Biden.
The Secret Service has come under significant criticism following the attackand its director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned Tuesday after a grueling day of testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.
Cheatle frustrated both Republicans and Democrats by his unwillingness to provide details about the event and often referred to the ongoing FBI investigationprompting an increasing number of lawmakers from both parties calling for his resignation.
FBI Director Christopher Wray appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and shared new details with lawmakers about the gunmanidentified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, and his actions before opening fire at the demonstration.
Wray revealed that on July 6, a week before the rally, the gunman conducted an online search for “how far was Oswald from Kennedy,” a reference to Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
FBI chief says he registered for Trump rally in Butler the same day he sought information about the Kennedy assassination and that he had been “very focused” on Trump and the campaign event at the time.
Wray also told members of the Judiciary Committee that Crooks flew a drone near the protest site about two hours before opening fireThe drone and two explosive devices were recovered from his vehicle. A third explosive device was found at Crooks’ home.
Keep reading:
• Special group to investigate Trump assassination attempt
• Secret Service director resigns after Trump assassination attempt
• The young man who intended to assassinate Trump fired eight shots