'We've got an agency in peril': GOP lawmaker hits Secret Service ahead of hearing on Trump rally shooting
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will need to answer “hundreds of questions” on Monday during a hearing on the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
“This hearing (Monday) will serve as the beginning of that process to get answers for the American people as to what went wrong with an agency that has a no fail mission,” Comer said during an interview with "Fox News Sunday."
Cheatle is set to testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee following calls for the director to step down in the wake of the assassination attempt.
Trump's right ear was injured in the stunning shooting at the former president's campaign rally in Bulter, Pennsylvania on July 13. One person, Corey Comperatore, was killed, and two people were seriously injured.
Comer said the hearing will last six hours, and the director will field bipartisan criticism including questions on how the shooter was able to get near Trump’s rally in Butler, how funding at the agency is being allocated and why some requests for additional security for the former president were denied.
“We want to know who's at fault for what happened,” Comer said. “We think not only do we need answers, but people need to be held accountable.”
Comer said the shooting has brought into question the Secret Services’ abilities to identify future threats or copycat attempts.
“I think we've got an agency in peril here,” he said. “We've got to instill confidence in the American people that we have a Secret Service that's up to the job, and right now I don't think we have that.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP lawmaker hits Secret Service ahead of Trump rally shooting hearing