Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana forming task force to probe attempted Trump assassination
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced Tuesday morning that they will form a bipartisan task force to investigate the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
The task force will be created this week as bipartisan calls for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle intensified during a Monday hearing of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in which Cheatle conceded the security protecting Trump was a massive failure.
"The security failures that allowed an assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life are shocking," Johnson and Jeffries said in a joint statement. "In response to bipartisan demands for answers, we are announcing a house task force... to thoroughly investigate the matter.
"The task force will be empowered with subpoena authority and will move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability, and make certain such failures never happen again.”
The Task Force will be empowered with all investigative authority of the House of Representatives, including subpoena authority and include seven Republicans and six Democrats.
Johnson and Jeffries said that the task force's goals are: "to understand what went wrong on the day of the attempted assassination; to ensure accountability; and to prevent such an agency failure from ever happening again."
The task force will make recommendations for reform to the relevant government agencies and recommend any necessary legislation to implement the reforms, they said.
Members of the House will vote on a resolution this week to establish the task force and its members.
More: Speaker Mike Johnson qualifies for reelection, poised to retain top job in Congress
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Speaker Mike Johnson forming task force to probe Trump assassination attempt
