Staff Reports
On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Homeland and Government Affairs Committee plan to join forces for a hearing that’s sure to stir up plenty of political heat: the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Officials from the FBI and Secret Service will be summoned to explain how they managed a monumental screw-up in protecting the nation’s 45th president on July 13.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard J. Durbin, the Democrat from Illinois, has announced that this hearing will see bipartisan cooperation—although one has to wonder how “bipartisan” it really is when the majority party has been slower than molasses in January to take action. After a classified briefing on Thursday, the joint hearing is expected to unveil some answers—or at least a few deflections—from officials trying to dodge the fallout.
Senate Judiciary, Homeland panels to hold joint hearing on Trump assassination attempthttps://t.co/ZXGVcyhO7v pic.twitter.com/UJ9nejZbiA
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) July 25, 2024
Durbin stated that Congress has a duty to figure out how the Secret Service let Trump down in a moment that should have been secure. He insists that it should be a cooperative effort despite his party’s questionable commitment to swift action following the incident. The Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee opened an investigation mere days after the attempted hit job, yet lawmakers have been relatively quiet since that initial burst of urgency. In contrast, House Republicans were quick to haul in witnesses for questioning—the urgency there was palpable, and the tardiness of the Senate’s response is hard to ignore.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican known for his sharp prose, has not held back in expressing his disappointment at Senate Democrats and their lackadaisical approach. While the House Oversight Committee has already grilled the Secret Service director for hours, Senate Democrats have been left behind, twiddling their thumbs instead of taking charge. McConnell was pleased to see Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle step down after fumbling her opportunity to provide satisfactory answers during her appearance. One can only hope that such departures lead to accountability.
Interestingly enough, Durbin has decided not to invite Cheatle to the upcoming hearing, but he hasn’t completely ruled out bringing her back for future probing. This leaves many wondering how accountable anyone will truly be for the glaring failures in security that led to such a serious attack. Meanwhile, the FBI Deputy Director, Paul Abbate, is likely to be the one who graces the Senate hearing, placing the onus on him rather than the FBI’s top dog, Christopher Wray, who seems to be expertly dodging the bullet—again.
The Senate’s decision to conduct a joint briefing and hearing might be a sign that they finally realized that the stakes are high and the public is watching. Meanwhile, the House is gearing up to create a task force to centralize its investigations, showing just how far ahead they are in getting to the bottom of this crisis. When it comes to political violence against a former president, one would think that both parties would be in a sprinting race to uncover the truth, but alas, the Senate seems content to plod along at its own pace.
