House leaders announce members of bipartisan task force investigating Trump assassination attempt

Washington — House leaders on Monday announced the members of the bipartisan task force that will look into what went wrong the day of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and make recommendations to prevent such an attack from ever happening again. 

The panel is composed of seven Republicans and six Democrats chosen by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. 

The Republican members include:

• Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania
• Mark Green of Tennessee
• David Joyce of Ohio
• Laurel Lee of Florida
• Michael Waltz of Florida
• Clay Higgins of Louisiana
• Pat Fallon of Texas

The Democratic members are

• Jason Crow of Colorado
• Lou Correa of California
• Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania
• Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania
• Glenn Ivey of Maryland
• Jared Moskowitz of Florida

Kelly, who introduced the resolution to establish the task force and whose district includes Butler County, where the rally was held, will serve as chairman. Crow will be the panel’s ranking member. 

“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, a Louisiana Republican, and Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said in a statement. 

Johnson and Jeffries previously said the panel will have full subpoena power to investigate the attempt on Trump’s life at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13. 

The House voted Wednesday to establish the task force, which will submit a final report of its findings by Dec. 13. 

The investigation is among several inquiries by lawmakers, law enforcement and federal agencies into the shooting. 

The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into the motive of gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, while the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog and Secret Service are examining the security failures that allowed the attack to occur. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also appointed an independent panel to review the shooting at the direction of President Biden. 

About a handful of other congressional inquiries are also taking place. In the House, the task force will now “assume control and jurisdiction over all pending House committee investigations regarding the Trump assassination attempt” until the end of the current Congress in January, the statement said.

The security lapses that allowed the gunman to get on a nearby rooftop, where he fired several shots toward Trump, led to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle last week. Her resignation came a day after she faced withering criticism while appearing before the House Oversight Committee to answer questions about the incident. 

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, telling lawmakers the gunman conducted an online search for “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy,” a reference to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald. That same day, he registered to attend for Trump’s rally, according to the FBI. 

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate told reporters Monday that the motive is “still not clear.” 

Robert Legare contributed reporting.