Secret Service head 'needs to go': senators call for ouster after Trump attack briefing

WASHINGTON ? Multiple senators are calling for new leadership at the Secret Service after a Wednesday briefing on the attack against former President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania political rally.

"This was a 100% cover-your-ass briefing," Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., posted on X. "Someone has died. The President was almost killed. The head of the Secret Service needs to go."

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on X that getting new leadership at the Secret Service would be an "important step" toward answers and accountability.

Officials at the FBI and Secret Service gave senators updates Wednesday afternoon on the investigation into the shooting at Trump's campaign stop in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was grazed by a bullet that took off a piece of his right ear, and Pennsylvania firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed as he tried to shield his family from the attack. Two other men were injured.

Senator tells USA TODAY director needs better explanation

Law enforcement officials were notified about suspicious activity around or on the building 20 minutes before shots were fired Saturday and the suspect was killed, according to a senator who attended the briefing.

The length of time between the suspicious activity and authorities taking action deeply troubled the senator, who talked about the briefing on condition of anonymity. It will be difficult for the director of the Secret Service to lead the agency without a better explanation for the delay, the senator said.

Officials have interviewed at least 220 people as part of the investigation and still do not have a motive for the attempted assassination, the senator said. There is no indication that shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks had accomplices or help from a foreign government.

The suspect’s father is a gun enthusiast, the senator said, and had more than 20 weapons in the home.

The briefing was held the same day the Butler Township Manager said in a news release that local police searched for a "suspicious" person near the rally and one officer, who hoisted himself up to the roof, saw Crooks moments before the attack.

"The officer was in a defenseless position and there was no way he could engage the actor while holding onto the roof edge," Township Manager Tom Knights said. The officer let go and fell to the ground, and local police immediately communicated Crooks' location and that he had a weapon, Knights said.

'So much smoke and mirrors'

The drumbeat for political consequences – and calls for heads to roll – began within hours of the Saturday evening rally, where 20-year-old sniper Crooks came within an inch of assassinating the former president.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X that "a bunch" of senators raised their hands to ask questions of the Secret Service at the briefing, but the call was cut off after only a few questions.

"So much smoke and mirrors," Lee said in one post. "So little accountability."

Initially, scrutiny about the Secret Service’s failures focused on how the shooter was able to scale a nearby building and gain a direct shot at Trump from about 150 yards away with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle. That’s far less than the 1,000 yard perimeter considered appropriate for such countermeasures, former Secret Service Director Julia Pierson told USA TODAY.

In recent days, calls for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign have grown as more information has emerged, including that bystanders were trying to alert police and the federal protective agency to the shooter on the roof long before Crooks began shooting.

Cheatle is expected to testify Monday before the House Oversight Committee at the request of its Republican chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky. Comer subpoenaed Cheatle on Wednesday to appear, writing that, "The assassination attempt of the former President and current Republican nominee for president represents a total failure of the agency’s core mission and demands Congressional oversight."

Independent review will look at 'all aspects': Secret Service

Questions also have been raised about how quickly the Secret Service – and local police – reacted to reports of a man acting suspiciously in the crowd.

Barrasso posted that Crooks was identified as suspicious an hour before the attack, although the senator didn't clarify who identified Crooks. He said the Secret Service lost sight of Crooks, who had a range finder and a backpack.

It was also disclosed that local police officers had been stationed inside the building, but none on the roof.

In an interview with ABC News, Cheatle called the shooting "unacceptable" but said she will not resign.

President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said an “independent review” would be launched into the Secret Service’s operational conduct and on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general announced he too would be conducting an investigation.

The Secret Service falls under the Department of Homeland Security.

Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service spokesman, told USA TODAY in response to questions about the the Secret Service efforts on Saturday that "there is an independent review panel that's going to look at all aspects of this."

Also Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a bipartisan task force within the House that will investigate the assassination attempt, saying "we need answers for these shocking security failures."

In a post on X, Sen. Rick Scott, R. Fla., called on FBI Director Christopher Wray, Cheatle, and Mayorkas to hold a daily public press conference to share updates and answer questions about what happened, who is being held accountable, and how to ensure "it never happens again."

Contributing: Riley Beggin

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senators want Secret Service head's ouster after Trump attack briefing