WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pennsylvania congressman who witnessed the assassination attempt against the former president donald trump will lead firsthand the House task force charged with investigating what went wrong and recommending solutions to help ensure such an attack does not happen again.
Republican Representative Mike Kelly represents the city of Butler, where the July 13 attack occurred. He attended Trump’s campaign rally and sponsored legislation to create the task force, saying his community was grieving and that “the people of Butler and the people of the United States deserve answers.”
Speaker Mike JohnsonR-La., and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York jointly announced Monday that 13 lawmakers have been named to the task force. It will be made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats and will issue a final report before December 13. approved a resolution giving the panel authority to issue subpoenas.
“We have the utmost confidence in this bipartisan group of stable, highly qualified and capable Members of Congress to act quickly to uncover the facts, ensure accountability and help ensure that such failures never happen again,” Johnson and Jeffries said in their statement. .
Many of the lawmakers have experience in law enforcement, legal affairs, or the military. The panel will assume control and jurisdiction over all pending House committee investigations into the attempted assassination of Trump, expediting work.
The other Republican members of the task force are Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee; Representative David Joyce of Ohio, a former county prosecutor; Rep. Laurel Lee of Florida, a former assistant U.S. attorney; Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida, a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces; Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana, a former Army sergeant and local police officer; and Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas, a former U.S. Air Force officer.
Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado will serve as the committee’s top Democratic member. He is a decorated former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other Democratic members are Rep. Lou Correa of California, who is on the subcommittee that recently visited the site of the assassination attempt; Representative Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, who served in that state’s House of Representatives for more than six years before coming to Congress; Representative Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, a U.S. Air Force veteran; Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland, former assistant U.S. attorney and Prince George’s County state’s attorney; and Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida, a former director of emergency management in that state.
