The Senate has opened an investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Trump and the security failures that led to it.
Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, will lead the investigation into the shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night that left Trump bleeding from a wound in his right ear and one spectator dead.
An aide to Peters told Fox News Digital that the committee has asked for an immediate report to its members.
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Peters will lead the Homeland Security Committee’s investigation into the shooting at President Trump’s rally. (Getty Images)
The speaker is scheduled to meet with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday, Fox News Digital reported.
Committee staff are also expected to receive their own briefing from DHS on Sunday afternoon.
The investigation is expected to include several phases, including hearings, according to an aide to Peters.
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Former President Trump is escorted off stage during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
News of the investigation comes after several lawmakers, including senators from both parties, called for an investigation into the incident.
On Saturday night, HSGAC member Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) called for a hearing by August to demand an explanation from both the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service about how the assassination attempt happened and what steps are being taken to investigate.
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A crowd reacts after a shooting at a rally for former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“The attempted assassination of President Trump and the murder of an innocent American demands immediate answers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Secret Service. It is a miracle that President Trump is alive and well, but it is completely unacceptable that a psychopathic attempted assassin had direct line of sight to a former president and front-runner for president of the United States,” Scott said in a statement.
He added that HSGAC “has an oversight responsibility and obligation to the American people to demand that the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service explain how this happened and what steps are being taken to investigate this assassination attempt and ensure that it never happens again.”
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Senators Gary Peters and Rand Paul speak during a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on February 28, 2023, in Washington. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Chairman Gary Peters must immediately convene HSGAC hearings with testimony from these agencies by August 1st and provide the answers that United States Senators and the American people want and deserve from their government. The security of our Republic is in question and as a people we demand answers,” he added.
Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana sent a letter to Governor Peters on Sunday urging him to hold hearings to investigate the shooting at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania.
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“As our nation grieves and seeks to unite in the wake of this violence, this commission can play a critical role in understanding why this tragedy occurred,” Tester said in the letter to both Peters and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
“I thank the brave men and women of law enforcement, including the U.S. Secret Service, who risked their lives to protect former President Trump and those in attendance. They do important work every day, largely out of public view,” the senators wrote. “I trust that your committee will work with them to provide oversight, accountability, and compile information so we can better understand how this incident happened and what steps need to be taken to ensure something similar never happens again.”
