Senators confront Secret Service director on Republican convention floor
“This was an assassination attempt! You owe the people answers. You owe president Trump answers!” Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn shouted at Cheatle, who continued to walk with her head down and ignore the senators’ criticism.
“It’s stonewalling!” Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Senate Republican.
Blackburn later posted a video of the encounter to X, writing: “The American people deserve answers from the Secret Service.”
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General announced earlier Wednesday that it was investigating the circumstances surrounding Saturday’s attempted assassination, and congressional Republicans have also vowed to launch their own investigation.
Cheatle told CNN in an interview Tuesday evening that the US Secret Service was “solely responsible” for the implementation and execution of security at the site of Saturday’s rally.
“At that particular site, we divided up areas of responsibility, but the Secret Service is totally responsible for the design and implementation and the execution of the site,” she told CNN.
CNN’s Whitney Wild and Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.
The investigation by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the vows of congressional Republicans for their own investigation are a clear indication that politics surrounding the assassination attempt will be intense. The Secret Service, being solely responsible for security at the rally site, will undoubtedly face scrutiny in the political arena.
