Congress approves task force to investigate second Trump assassination attempt
The bipartisan U.S. House of Representatives task force that was created to investigate the July assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania will now also investigate last week's second apparent attempt on his life that happened in Florida.
On Friday, so they can investigate both assassination attempts.
Congressman Glenn Ivey, D-Md., is on this task force, and told 7News he and his colleagues are moving quickly in order to be able to effectively investigate both incidents.
"One of the things we're going to do first is hire two more attorneys to take on the additional work, and we might need some additional staffing to help on that front, as well. We're also going to have to go through a whole new set of documents and information. It's going to be a whole new set of law enforcement officials to be interviewed," Ivey said.
The House's approval of expanding this task force's responsibilities came the same day into the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., where Trump suffered a gunshot wound to his ear and one man attending the rally was killed.
, the agency admitted to , while also stating they need more resources. The director of the Secret Service at the time of the Pennsylvania assassination attempt stepped down less than two weeks after the incident.
"I appreciate the fact the Secret Service has been pretty clear about mistakes that were made, especially with the communications breakdown. I think there were some other [breakdowns], as well, that were pretty significant. It's important they acknowledge there was such a significant failure in the protocols and the way they provide protection to our candidates and to our spectators who go to view these events," Ivey said. "The other big step now, too, is that they make adjustments to provide protection, so we don't have these kinds of failures again in the future."
The House's bipartisan task force is made up of 13 House members: seven Republicans and six Democrats.
The Republicans are U.S. Reps. Mark Green of Tennessee, David Joyce of Ohio, Laurel Lee of Florida, Michael Waltz of Florida, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, and Pat Fallon of Texas. The Democrats are U.S. Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, J. Luis Correa of California, Madeleine Dean and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, and Ivey.
Last month, where the first assassination attempt happened, and Ivey said he had some major takeaways.
"We're still working on the investigation phase of this, but we've made some headway already," Ivey said. "The communications breakdown was important. I think one of the things I had not expected was the need for resources being as acute as it is. I think that's something we need to figure out how to address as quickly as possible. We're not going to be able to add new Secret Service agents and train them up between now and Election Day, but I think one of the things they can do is add additional resources by working more closely with state and local law enforcement."
Last weekend, law enforcement in West Palm Beach, Fla., while he was golfing at his own golf course.
Secret Service agents were stationed a few holes ahead of where Trump was playing when they saw a rifle barrel sticking out of the bushes. The former president was not hurt during this incident.
Ivey said he already saw improvements in the Secret Service's response in this second attempt.
"What happened in Florida, I thought, was, fortunately, better than what happened in Butler. There was some good work by the Secret Service agent who saw the gun and disrupted the attempt to take another shot at the former president, but still not optimal. I think there's still work to be done. I think they're going to need additional resources, which is another thing the acting director discussed today," Ivey said.
While the House task force gears up to investigate both assassination attempts, Ivey told 7News he has one idea that could limit the chances of a tragedy.
