Since the shocking assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, numerous questions have been asked about the glaring security failures that allowed this horrific event to happen. And it seems that as soon as one question is answered, two more arise.
There are several investigations underway into the incident—and for good reason. Congress has held several hearings with various law enforcement officials, with more to come. In addition, the House of Representatives is setting up a bipartisan task force to investigate the shooting, and now Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) announced their selection for the group.
speaker Michael Johnson (R-La.) and Minority Leader in the House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) announced on Monday the seven Republicans and six Democrats who will serve on the task force investigating the assassination attempt on former President Trump.
The Republican chairman of the panel will be Rep. Michael Kelly (Pa.), who represents Butler, Pa., where the shooting took place and present in the front row during the rally.
The ranking Democratic member will be Rep. Jason Crow (Colo.), a former Army Ranger and Bronze Star recipient who serves on the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees.
On the Republican side, the task force will also include representatives. Mark Green (Tennessee), Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee; David Joyce (Ohio); Laurel Lee (Florida); Michael Waltz (Florida); Clay Higgins (Louisiana); and Pat Fallon (Texas).
The five other Democratic-appointed representatives are Lou Correa (California), Madeleine Dean (Pennsylvania), Chrissy Houlahan (Pennsylvania), Glenn Ivey (Maryland) and Jared Moskowitz (Florida).
The members were announced following a unanimous roll call vote on Wednesday evening to establish the task force.
Bipartisan committee set up in House of Representatives to investigate assassination attempt on Donald Trump
One concern raised by some lawmakers ahead of the selection was the possibility that Bennie Thompson (D-MS) might be included, not only because of his role on the J6 committee, but also because he led the effort in April to strip Trump of Secret Service protection.
Official position of the HFC: “Representative Bennie Thompson must not tarnish
A further investigation” pic.twitter.com/gO7KpADaxY— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) July 24, 2024
It appears that these concerns were taken seriously, as Thompson was not named as a member of the task force. In fact, the named Democratic members have been quite diligent in the committee’s questioning of law enforcement witnesses so far, seemingly with the goal of actually getting answers and getting to the heart of what went wrong. And if Crow’s name sounds familiar, remember that his exchange with President Joe Biden about combat awards in mid-July sparked a minor firestorm.
President Biden says Beau Biden’s Bronze Star is worth more
As representative Jason Crows Combat Award
LEAK: Zoom call shows Joe Biden mocking war veteran’s service
During the shockingly disturbing rant
At the risk of being overly bullish, I will just say that I find the list of Task Force members somewhat encouraging and remain lukewarmly hopeful that we will actually get answers to some critical questions. At the very least, I expect this Task Force to be more constructive than the one formed to “investigate” J6.
