The Secret Service confirmed that Director Kimberly Cheatle will appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability to answer questions about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Cheatle was subpoenaed to appear before the committee on Monday to discuss the agency's security lapse at the rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Late Friday morning, Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi confirmed Cheatle will appear before the committee.
Before it was confirmed Cheatle would appear Monday morning, the chair and ranking member of the Oversight committee released a bipartisan statement calling on the director to appear before the panel "without delay."
"Americans have many serious questions about the historic security failures that occurred at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania," Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in a Friday morning statement.
"Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle must appear before the House Oversight Committee without delay on Monday, July 22 to answer our many questions and provide the transparency and accountability that Americans deserve and that are at the foundation of our government."
In a separate statement, Comer said: "Americans demand answers from Director Kimberly Cheatle about the Secret Service's historic security failures that led to the attempted assassination of President Trump, murder of an innocent victim, and harm to others in the crowd."
The alleged shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, had been identified as a suspicious person at the rally well before shots were fired. Crooks also managed to shoot at the president despite having been seen on the rooftop minutes earlier.
Comer and Raskin, who nearly always disagree on policy, said they are united "in condemning all political violence."
"On Saturday, our nation witnessed a grave assault on our democracy when a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Trump, killed an innocent victim, and harmed others. There is no place for political violence of any kind in our great country," Comer and Raskin said in their statement.
"Our Founders envisioned robust and spirited political debate in our nation, and we see that debate often in our Committee room. While we often have passionate disagreements about policies and investigative priorities, we are united in condemning all political violence and ensuring that America will prevent such a horrific event from ever happening again."
Republicans have called on Cheatle to resign after the Secret Service failed to prevent the attack on Trump.
Several GOP senators confronted Cheatle at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, seeking answers about how the agency failed to protect Trump.
The New York Post, citing a whistleblower, said Secret Service had "little resources" to cover the rally after the end of the NATO summit in Washington, D.C.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Cheatle should resign and announced he will initiate a bipartisan, special task force with subpoena authority to investigate the shooting and the security failures that preceded the attack.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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