[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S5173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Secret Service

  Mr. President, on Saturday, July 13, our Nation narrowly avoided a 
catastrophe with the failed assassination attempt of President Trump in 
Butler, PA. In the wake of this disturbing attack, I am grateful that 
President Trump is safe and recovering and join Tennesseans and 
Americans in praying for the two victims who were critically injured.
  Tragically, our Nation lost a hero in the attack. Corey Comperatore, 
a rally attendee, was killed while protecting his wife and daughter 
from gunfire.
  This assassination attempt was a shocking act of political violence, 
and one Agency more than any other was responsible for preventing it; 
that is the Secret Service. But as reports continue to pile up about 
the Secret Service's failures leading up to the attempt, I know 
Tennesseans and Americans have so many questions: How was the shooter 
allowed on the structure so close to the rally with a clear line of 
sight to President Trump? And why were there no agents on that roof? 
How is it possible, as Senators learned in a briefing with Secret 
Service and the FBI last week, that Secret Service agents knew about a 
threat before President Trump walked on stage, yet they did nothing to 
prevent him from going on stage? How was the shooter allowed to scope 
out the rally grounds with a range finder, a device that is often used 
by snipers to measure the distance to a target, even after he was 
spotted by law enforcement? Why was the assassin able to fly a drone 
and take footage of the rally grounds just before the speech? And why, 
as the Agency has finally acknowledged--after initially denying it--why 
did the Secret Service turn down previous requests from President 
Trump's security detail for more resources to protect him?
  To be sure, many Secret Service agents bravely put their lives on the 
line to get President Trump to safety following the assassination 
attempt. We are grateful for them.
  But as a whole, the Agency failed its sole objective, which was to 
protect the protectee, in this case former President Trump.
  Yet Secret Service Director Cheatle has repeatedly refused to explain 
why this tragedy happened on her watch. When my colleagues and I 
pressed her for answers last week, she ran away. And during the House 
Oversight hearing on Monday, she continued to stonewall, repeatedly 
claiming that she is unable to provide answers while her Agency 
investigates the operational failures leading up to the assassination 
attempt.
  This is inexcusable. While Director Cheatle has finally done the 
right thing and resigned, Tennesseans and the American people still 
deserve answers about how her Agency let President Trump come within 
inches of being killed by an assassin's bullet.
  The Secret Service has the duty to send another representative 
equipped to answer these questions when the Senate Judiciary Committee 
holds its hearing on the circumstances that led to the attempted 
assassination of former President Trump. While we await answers, there 
is one thing we do know: If Director Cheatle had done her job and 
upheld her Agency's ``zero fail mission,'' this tragedy would never 
have happened.
  I yield the floor.

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