House unveils member list for Secret Service task force
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced the members tapped to serve on the bipartisan task force set to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month.
Why it matters: The task force will have jurisdiction of the investigation going forward, after multiple House committees launched individual probes after Trump was shot on July 13.
- Johnson selected Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), who was in attendance at the rally, to serve its chair, and Reps. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), Clay Higgins (R-La.) and Pat Fallon (R-Texas) to sit on the panel.
- Jeffries appointed Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) to serve as ranking member, with Reps. Lou Correa (D-Calif.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) set to be on the committee.
- "We have the utmost confidence in this bipartisan group of steady, highly qualified, and capable Members of Congress to move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability, and help make certain such failures never happen again," Johnson and Jeffries said in a joint statement.
Driving the news: The names come after days of talks between leaders, with the House having voted to create the task force last Wednesday.
- The lawmakers will be tasked with looking into what went wrong and making recommendations on legislation aimed at making necessary reforms to prevent similar instances moving forward.
- The shooting led to strong concerns on the Secret Service's failures on the day of the rally, with the agency's director ultimately stepping down after both sides of the aisle sounded the alarm on her handling of the matter.
The big picture: Both leaders have called for a swift and serious investigation, with the task force set to have subpoena authority to conduct its probe.
