Exclusive: House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has expressed concern about the safety of visiting U.S. and world leaders following the assassination attempt on former President Trump.
“Yeah, absolutely,” McCaul told Fox News Digital when asked if the security failings at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, raised concerns about the level of security surrounding President Biden as well. [leader]… Prime Minister Netanyahu is coming tomorrow. That’s a good example.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to address a joint session of Parliament on Wednesday as the war in Gaza with the pro-Palestinian terrorist group Hamas continues.
Trump shooting: A timeline of the assassination attempt
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul has expressed concern about the safety of elected officials ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress. (Getty Images)
Security preparations are already underway at the Capitol, with fencing being set up around the perimeter of the building since early Tuesday morning.
But a shooting at a Trump rally earlier this month left one attendee dead and two seriously injured, sparking concern and debate about the safety of elected officials, including Trump himself, who was shot in the ear and had to be evacuated by the Secret Service.
Regarding the possibility of tensions escalating due to Netanyahu’s upcoming speech, McCaul said: “So the ingredients are there. The situation is ripe for violence.”
He cited threats from pro-Palestinian demonstrators, some of whom have consistently patrolled the area around the Capitol in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, pitting them against pro-Israel lawmakers on both sides. In late October last year, more than 300 demonstrators were arrested after occupying the Cannon House Office Building during a protest.
The same parliament building hosted a large protest on Tuesday, just days before Netanyahu’s speech. Protesters took over the Cannon Building Rotunda, chanting slogans and waving banners, while police arrested dozens of people, some with zip ties. One banner read, “The Jews say: Stop the genocide.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Capitol Police for more information.
Pennsylvania police officers were not allowed inside Secret Service command center for Trump rally, lawmakers say
Security fencing was erected around the U.S. Capitol building on Tuesday morning, ahead of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech the day after. (Getty Images)
“This is where the federal government and Capitol Police really need to work together,” McCaul said.
He was one of several House members who made a bipartisan trip to Butler on Tuesday to tour the site of the assassination attempt. The 20-year-old gunman was seen acting suspiciously by rally-goers about an hour before the shooting and opened fire from a rooftop just outside the rally’s perimeter.
“Scene visits are really important to really understand what’s going on at a crime scene, especially in this case, and my understanding is that we are the first group to actually get on the roof at the scene of an assassination attempt,” McCaul said.
Trump shooting scene offers bird’s-eye view of ‘chaotic’ rally, witness says
Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump was hastily removed from the stage on July 13, 2024, after a shooting occurred during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The Texas Republican said his first takeaway from his visit was “how close” the shooter got to Trump’s location, and noted there were several nearby areas where security forces could have been deployed but were not.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“There was very little communication between the Secret Service and local police,” McCaul said.
The shooting sparked a bipartisan backlash against Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the U.S. Secret Service, who resigned on Tuesday.
