Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) criticized Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for predicting that a report on security failures at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, would be ready within “60 days.”
During a hearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, Ocasio-Cortez said pointed He noted that given that the US “threat environment” is “very high,” “the idea that the report would be released within 60 days” is “unacceptable.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments came in response to Cheatle’s comments. Responded Asked for a “rough estimate” of when the final report of the investigation into the assassination attempt on President Trump might be released, Cheatle said the Secret Service has a “goal” to complete the report of its internal mission assurance investigation within 60 days.
“Secretary Cheatle, what you just said about 60 days, we’re in the middle of a presidential election right now, particularly, and of course there’s an election happening across the country, and that election is about 100 days away,” Ocasio-Cortez began. “So, regardless of party, the idea that a report would be released in 60 days, when the threat environment in the United States is so high, is unacceptable.”
AOC slammed USSS Secretary Cheatle: “The idea that a report would be completed within 60 days, much less before any actionable decisions can be made, is simply unacceptable. We are 10 days away from an assassination attempt on a former president. We need answers.” pic.twitter.com/FvB6HyEhka
— The Blaze (@theblaze) July 22, 2024
“And I think that’s really important to understand,” Ocasio-Cortez added. “This is not theater. This is not a game. This is about the safety of some of the most targeted and valued people in the United States and abroad. So the idea that a report would be completed within 60 days, much less before any actionable decisions have been made, is simply unacceptable. We’re 10 days into an assassination attempt on a former president of the United States, regardless of party affiliation.”
The hearing came after suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire from the roof of a nearby building, leaving Trump with a “bullet wound that penetrated the upper part of his right ear.”
Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the “Squad,” strongly opposed political violence, saying it was “totally unacceptable,” and wished President Trump a “speedy recovery.”
Cheatle served in the U.S. Secret Service for 27 years before taking on the role of senior director of global security for PepsiCo. In August 2022, President Joe Biden Appointed Cheatle has been appointed the new director of the Secret Service, taking up the role from September 2022.
Since the assassination attempt on Trump, Cheatle has faced intense scrutiny and calls for his resignation over security lapses during Trump rallies.
The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has opened an investigation into the Secret Service following the assassination attempt on President Trump.
