WASHINGTON: Republican lawmakers are intensifying their focus on the Secret Service, expressing growing frustration over the agency's response to the attempted assassination of presidential nominee Donald Trump. On Monday, the House committee will question Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, an event Speaker Mike Johnson has called "must-see TV" for those concerned about security failures at a Pennsylvania rally earlier this month.

The Secret Service is responsible for protecting the president, his family, former presidents, individuals in the presidential line of succession, and other political candidates. Republicans, who control the House, are united in their demand for Cheatle's resignation or dismissal after a 20-year-old gunman managed to shoot Trump in the ear at a rally on July 13.

Many lawmakers confronted Cheatle at last week's Republican convention, releasing videos of their demands for answers. In a recent Fox News interview, Trump revealed that no one warned him of any issues before the incident. "Nobody mentioned it, nobody said there was a problem. I would've waited for 15, they could've said let's wait for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, five minutes, something," he said, alongside his vice-presidential candidate JD Vance.

Reports indicate that Trump requested additional security in the months leading up to the assassination attempt, but these requests were either denied or unfulfilled due to staffing shortages. CBS News reported that Trump's security frustrations have been ongoing for two years. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi stated that in some cases where specialized units were not available, the agency made adjustments, including relying on state and local law enforcement.

Eric Trump, the former president's son, has been vocal about the need for increased security throughout the campaign. He blamed the Biden administration and Cheatle for the assassination attempt and criticized the lack of accountability. "She should be out of a job," he told Fox News.

Speaker Mike Johnson announced that, in addition to the House hearing, lawmakers would release more details about a bipartisan task force with subpoena authority to investigate the Secret Service's response. "The initial excuses that [Cheatle] has given for the lapses that happened last Saturday are just unbelievable, so we're going to get down to the bottom of it," he said.

Republican Senator Ron Johnson also stated that he would soon release preliminary information from his investigation into the attack. This report aims to encourage more people to come forward with footage and first-hand accounts. He added that his investigation is now bipartisan, conducted with Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut.

The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general is also investigating the attack, which occurred after the Secret Service identified the gunman as suspicious 20 minutes before he opened fire.

Reports have emerged that top Secret Service officials denied some of Trump's security team's requests for additional resources in the two years leading up to the assassination attempt. The Washington Post reported that the agency refused requests for more agents and snipers due to resource and staffing shortages. Speaker Johnson criticized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for failing to allocate more resources to the Secret Service. He emphasized that Congress had increased funding to DHS in recent years, but DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was responsible for ensuring the Secret Service had sufficient resources.

Johnson added that he spoke to Mayorkas hours after the assassination attempt, but the DHS leader was unable to answer basic questions, including whether the gunman, Thomas Crooks, had used a drone to survey the rally area. Law enforcement officials confirmed that Crooks had flown a drone above the site before the shooting.

Trump has made several public appearances since the incident, including at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he told the crowd that he "took a bullet for Democracy." His former White House physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, released a statement saying the bullet created a 2cm-wide wound on Trump's ear that is beginning to "heal properly."

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