House Speaker Mike Johnson said the special committee formed to investigate the assassination attempt on former President Trump will be expanded to include a second incident over the weekend.
“We in Parliament have a responsibility to get to the bottom of this, to find out why it's happening and what can be done,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday.
“One of the things we are looking to do is expand the scope of our existing task force so that it can also investigate second assassination attempts.”
The Bipartisan Task Force on the Assassination Attempt of Donald J. Trump had already requested a report from the FBI on the second assassination attempt.
“We're going to find out what went wrong and make sure this never happens again,” said Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania), who represents the city of Butler, where the first assassination attempt on Trump took place.
Authorities said Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested Sunday after he was found holding a rifle through a fence at a South Florida golf course where Trump was playing.
Johnson also predicted a change in the task force's focus in a speech to the conservative group America First Institute on Tuesday.
“We're going to shift our focus to investigating both cases,” Johnson said of the special committee.
And he vowed to do more to ensure President Trump's security.
“We all know the problem is a lack of leadership. And it reaches all the way to the top. So this week we will be demanding that our 45th president – he should be the 47th president – he is the most threatened man on the planet. He must get the protection he needs,” Johnson said at an AFPI event.
The speaker criticized President Biden.
“They don't let me speak to the president very often. Maybe that's not a big surprise to you. We communicate through staff. It's a very sad situation. It's a very scary situation actually,” Johnson said when asked if he had spoken to the president about increased security for Trump.
Following the first assassination attempt on Trump, President Biden has ordered the Secret Service to step up security for the former president.
Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe said Monday that Trump is receiving the highest level of security.
“The former president's protective posture enabled early identification of the threat and safe evacuation, and increased assets were deployed yesterday at President Biden's direction,” Rowe said.
“We have a lot of tactical assets in place as a result of what happened 60 days ago. Those elements are working.”
Michael Schnell contributed to this story.
