GOP lawmakers set sights on Secret Service director in wake of assassination attempt

Last Saturday's assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has sent shockwaves through the country and has brought intense scrutiny upon the U.S. Secret Service, which operations under the auspices of Biden's Department of Homeland Security.

Now, a group of Republican lawmakers are demanding answers and ordering Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to take accountability for the security failures that led to the harrowing scene in Butler, Pennsylvania, as Fox News reports.

Tensions boil over at RNC

Last week at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, a group of Republican senators confronted Cheatle when she made a surprise appearance in a hospitality suite at Fiserve Forum, as Axios reported.

It was on Wednesday that Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Barrasso (R-WY), James Lankford (R-OK), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) took Cheatle to task in a very public way, following her through the venue demanding responses to their questions about the assassination attempt.

The lawmakers were dissatisfied with a briefing the agency gave earlier in the day, which they claimed did not offer any substantive information about the failures that allowed a gunman to fire shots from a roof in close proximity to Trump on that fateful day.

As they tailed Cheatle through the facility, Barrasso could be heard loudly accusing her of “stonewalling,” while Blackburn shouted her own take on the situation.

“This was an assassination attempt, you owe the people answers, you owe President Trump answers,” she declared.

Key hearing set for Monday

In an attempt to learn more about precisely what happened last weekend in Butler, the House Oversight and Accountability Committee is set to hold a hearing on the subject on Monday, as The Hill reports.

After what was initially a good bit of uncertainty and conflicting information, Cheatle ultimately confirmed her plans to respect a subpoena for her appearance and the proceedings.

The Secret Service issued a statement to that effect that said, “We are committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure it never happens again.”

Considering the seeming secrecy and aversion to transparency already emanating from the agency, however, just how much new information will emerge from Monday's hearing remains to be seen.

It is incumbent not just on the aforementioned lawmakers, but also on all Americans, to insist on receiving the truth about what led to what was very nearly a successful assassination attempt on the former commander in chief.