House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) is pressing the Department of Homeland Security to provide clarity on how Secret Service members are trained to respond to threats after a shooting broke out at former President Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday.
In a letter sent to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday, Green pressed the top Biden administration official to provide information or any documentation related to security detail at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Green praised the “swift response” of the Secret Service members but argued the DHS must be investigated for some reports that suggest the department rebuffed “multiple requests” from Trump’s security team to “increase protective services” ahead of the event.
“The seriousness of this security failure and chilling moment in our nation’s history cannot be understated,” Green wrote. “As the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) investigates, the Committee on Homeland Security (Committee) is dedicated to conducting rigorous oversight to ensure that the American people receive answers and presidential candidates receive proper and adequate protection.”
Green outlined a number of questions he wants to be answered by the department, including access to all documents and communications within the DHS and Secret Service related to “any potential increase or addition of protective resources to President Trump’s security detail” from mid-November to the present day.
The letter also requests information on Secret Service rules of engagement protocols “to assess and neutralize threats” after concerns were raised about how the shooter “was able to access a rooftop within range and direct line of sight of where President Trump was speaking.”
Green’s requests come as lawmakers from both parties have responded swiftly to the shooting and have begun to reconsider security protocols in Congress. House Republicans are scheduled to have a briefing with the sergeant-at-arms on Sunday afternoon, one lawmaker told the Washington Examiner.
Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) also announced they would be introducing a bill that would provide enhanced Secret Service protection to Trump as well as President Joe Biden and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while on the campaign trail.
“As reports continue to emerge, it’s clear that more protection is needed for all major candidates for president,” the two said in a joint statement. “That’s why we’re planning on introducing bipartisan legislation providing President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. with enhanced Secret Service protection. Anything less would be a disservice to our democracy.”
The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel, Pennsylvania, on Sunday morning. Crooks died shortly after the shooting after being “neutralized” by the Secret Service, agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. At least one rally attendee was also killed.
Trump was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated after confirming he was pierced in the upper part of his right ear.
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“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place,” he wrote in a Truth Social Post.
The former president is in stable condition. Trump later flew to New Jersey after being released from the hospital. He is expected to travel to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention that begins on Monday.
