The House of Representatives unanimously voted to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
No lawmakers voted “no” nor “present,” and 416 voted “yes.” Ten Democrats and six Republicans did not vote.
The task force will be comprised of seven Republicans and six Democrats, with the members likely being announced this week.
House GOP leaders raced the bill to the floor after the deadly shooting at Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally nearly two weeks ago. One attendee died, and two others were injured, with Trump himself getting shot in the ear and evacuated off the stage by the Secret Service.
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Former President Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
The vote was bipartisan, as expected — the hours following the shooting prompted a flurry of bipartisan condemnations against political violence, as well as scrutiny of the security situation that allowed a 20-year-old gunman with a rifle onto a rooftop just outside the rally perimeter.
“The security failures that allowed an assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life are shocking. In response to bipartisan demands for answers, we are announcing a House Task Force made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats to thoroughly investigate the matter,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement on Tuesday. “The task force will be empowered with subpoena authority and will move quickly to find the facts, ensure accountability, and make certain such failures never happen again.”
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Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are leading the task force assembly as a bipartisan effort. (Getty Images)
The resolution was led by Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., whose district the shooting took place in and who was in attendance but unharmed.
Johnson told Fox News Digital in an interview last week that he wanted the panel to reach a conclusion as soon as possible — in part, at least, “so that people don’t make up their minds about some conspiracy theory or some sinister plot.”
Rep. Mike Kelly led the resolution to establish the commission. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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“Some of those rumors have begun already, and we have to address that immediately,” he said “The idea of a task force is that we can have sort of a precision group or unit that goes to work on this immediately. It’ll be bipartisan and will have subpoena authority. I think that’s going to be very important to get the answers as quickly as possible.”
The bipartisan scrutiny of the security situation forced U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign on Tuesday.
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