Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, told Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle that the projected 60-day deadline for an initial report into the security breakdowns that led to the assassination attempt on former President Trump is “unacceptable.”
Cheatle, who is testifying before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday, had just told committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) that the internal mission assurance investigation was expected to be completed within 60 days.
“We’re in the middle of a particularly intense presidential campaign right now,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to President Biden’s decision to forgo reelection and Vice President Harris’s bid for reelection on Sunday, as well as elections across the country in about 100 days.
“So the idea that a report would be completed within 60 days, much less before any actionable decisions can be made, is simply unacceptable,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Regardless of party affiliation, we are 10 days away from an assassination attempt on a former president of the United States. We need answers.”
“This is not a theatrical moment. We need to make policy decisions. And we need to make them now. Let’s do it,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And that may require legislation that we need to pass immediately. Without that, we are operating blindly.”
Cheatle told Ocasio-Cortez he wouldn’t wait for the report to take action.
“We’ve been analyzing it all along and have been adding new features to our security detail since this happened,” Cheatle said.
Cheatle said there are “numerous” investigations being conducted by the Office of Inspector General, in addition to an internal Secret Service investigation and a Department of Justice investigation.
Additionally, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Sunday that he would create an independent, bipartisan commission to conduct a 45-day investigation into the assassination attempt.
