Local congressman weighs in on upcoming oversight hearing on Trump assassination attempt

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Members of the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee will question Director of the U.S. Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle next week as they attempt to uncover what failures allowed for a would-be-assassin to get within 150 yards of former President Donald Trump this past Saturday.

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Action News Jax spoke exclusively with one of the Congressmen on the committee Wednesday.

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Former Green Barrett and current Florida Congressman Mike Waltz (R-FL6th District) sits on the committee tasked with investigating the attempted assassination.

“Any veteran, any shooter out there knows that 150-yard shot is basically a chip shot,” said Waltz.

Waltz told Action News Jax he spoke with Secret Service agents who were there in Butler, Pennsylvania at the time of the attempted assassination.

Waltz claims they told him repeated requests for additional security were denied.

“So, we’ll be asking the director a lot of very pointed questions. How long, how often has the Trump detail been asking for more? And not just more bodies, but also things like drones overhead,” said Waltz.

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In a recent interview with Good Morning America, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas vehemently denied requests for additional security had been rejected.

“We have not received any requests for additional security measures that were rebuffed. That assertion is unequivocally false,” said Mayorkas.

Waltz said he also wants to understand what kind of communication breakdowns occurred, given we now know the shooter had been flagged by law enforcement nearly and hour before the first shot rang out.

“That’s the protocol. Gun, gun, gun and the close-end detail gets him out. So, did they have the appropriate communications gear? Right? Local law enforcement may not have had gear that’s compatible with the Secret Service,” said Waltz. “That may have been part of their resources request. So, these agents are telling me they have the receipts, that they made these requests in writing and that the headquarters didn’t want to expend their budget.”

RELATED: Exclusive photos show cell phone, transmitter found next to Trump shooter’s body

The House Oversight and Accountability hearing is scheduled for next Monday.

Members of the US House Homeland Security Committee are also expected to hear from the Secret Service Director, Homeland Security Secretary and FBI Director the following day.

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