Republicans and Democrats on the Hill are so polarized that it’s a shock to the system to hear them agree on anything. Yet, overall that’s what happened at Monday's House Oversight Committee hearing where lawmakers grilled U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Lawmakers appeared to be incensed at the massive failure of the Secret Service to protect Trump at the July 12 Pennsylvania rally, which ended in a wounded former president, one dead, and two more grievously injured on national television.
While a few Democrats could not resist wasting their time to push gun control talking points, most Democrats tried to get real answers from Cheatle. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) went crazy and yelled at Cheatle for not answering a stupid political question he had no business asking at an informational hearing. “Real simple, more guns, especially dangerous ones, have made your job protecting people easier, is that not right?” he asked. Cheatle wouldn’t answer the clearly political question. His colleagues, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D- D.C.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), joined him in turning the hearing to discover Secret Service security failures into stump speeches for gun control.
Most surprisingly, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who rarely misses an opportunity to engage in partisan attacks on her opponents, didn’t do that on Monday. Instead, she asked some of the best questions that bother Americans about the botched Secret Service job.
“The notion of a report coming out in 60 days when the threat environment is so high in the United States irrespective of parties is not acceptable,” said AOC. “This is not theater, this is not about jockeying, this is about the safety of some of the most highly targeted and valued targets internationally and domestically in the United States of America. So the idea that a report will be finalized in 60 days let alone prior to any actionable decisions that would be made is simply not acceptable. It has been ten days since an assassination attempt on a former president of the United States, regardless of party. There need to be answers.”
She continued to bring up the multiple times violence happens, institutions required to protect us fail, and internal investigations never provide any answers. This is the one of the most important problems we have in this country. From the Vegas shooting to the multiple involvements by the FBI in plots of violence involving their informants, the internal investigations that never find any wrongdoing have to stop.
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) also asked decent questions about why Trump wasn’t taken off the stage immediately after the shooting began. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) pulled out footage of rally-goers shouting warnings that there was a shooter on the roof and made Cheatle watch it. “Yes or no? Was there ever a moment when the Secret Service thought of pausing the rally?” he asked. Cheatle would not answer the question directly, instead saying she “could speak in generalities.”
Krishnamoorthi also pulled out large photos of the building and pointed out that the USSS put the unguarded building outside their security perimeter and asked her why. “It’s been 9 days. You should know that,” he said. “I respectfully submit that the Secret Service must expand their security perimeter” to take account for high-powered rifles with long range. Krishnamoorthi did not use his time to grandstand about political hot-button issues.
Rep. Ritu Khanna (D-PA) had one of the best moments with Cheatle. “Would you agree that this is the most serious security lapse since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981?”
Cheatle replied, “Yes, sir, I would.”
But when asked if she knew what Stuart Knight, the director of Secret Service at the time, did, Cheatle responded: “He stayed on duty.” Except he didn’t.
“He resigned,” said Khanna.
“I just don’t think this is partisan,” he continued. “If you have an assassination attempt on a president, a former president, or a candidate, you need to resign.” Cheatle’s response to him was simply ridiculous. “We don’t shirk our responsibilities,” she said in response to why she shouldn’t resign like Knight.
“I think you should resign,” continued Khanna. Both Republicans and Democrats agreed overwhelmingly that Cheatle should resign. With the hateful rhetoric on both sides escalating in the run-up to the election, it was a good moment to watch our elected leaders come together on something. The question is, are our representatives so impotent that despite their overwhelming agreement that Cheatle should resign, she will be allowed to go back to her office today with full clearance?
We all know the answer to that, and we should all want to know why.
In the days since the shooting, I've been saddened by how divided everyone seems to be, even on the seemingly simple belief that political violence is wrong. It was good to see most of our lawmakers put aside their hyperbole for a few hours and denounce the attempted assassination of Trump while making an effort to get to the bottom of it together. This is what America expects them to do all the time, especially because consensus gets things done. I would be shocked if Cheatle still has her job by the end of the week.
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