Trump shooting probes sweep Capitol Hill

An evening recap of the action on Capitol Hill and preview of the day ahead
Jul 15, 2024 View in browser
 
POLITICO Inside Congress

By Jordain Carney

With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team

James Comer speaks.

Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) leads one of several congressional committees probing Saturday's shooting. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

THE HILL’S VARIOUS TRUMP SHOOTING PROBES

Brace for multiple high-profile, sprawling congressional investigations into Saturday’s assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.

At least six committees in both the House and Senate are requesting a range of briefings, hearings and records. We’ve got a lot of news on this front, and we’re going to try to be pretty straightforward about who is demanding what and when.

House Oversight Committee: As we scooped, members of the committee will get a briefing on Tuesday with the Secret Service, according to a panel aide.

Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) also announced that Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will testify before his panel on July 22. As of now, it would be the first scheduled hearing with Cheatle — who is at the center of the sprawling congressional probes — since the shooting.

In a preview of what lawmakers would focus on in both the public hearing and Tuesday’s closed-door briefing, Comer said lawmakers want answers on the “security lapses” that allowed the gunman to get on a roof roughly 200 yards from where Trump was speaking and “how we can prevent this from happening again.”

House Judiciary Committee: Panel leadership, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), were briefed by the FBI on Monday, a person familiar with the conversation told us, granted anonymity to discuss private details.

FBI Director Christopher Wray will appear before the committee next week. Though the appearance was on the books before Saturday’s shooting, the focus will obviously shift heavily given the attack. Beyond that one hearing, we’re told to expect Jordan and the committee to be involved in the forthcoming investigations with a focus on the FBI and ATF.

House Homeland Security Committee: Republicans on the panel were expected to get a briefing on Monday from Cheatle. Instead, a committee spokesperson told us, the Secret Service asked to reschedule. It’s unclear when that will be, but the committee has told the agency to come back with an alternative date “promptly.”

Instead, Homeland Security Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) got briefed by the FBI on Monday, which told the two lawmakers that the Secret Service is conducting a review of its security protocols, according to a committee spokesperson. That person added that Green also wanted to schedule a visit to the scene of the shooting, if possible, after it has been processed by law enforcement.

House Intelligence Committee: Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.) were briefed by FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate on Monday.

Himes used the briefing to push the FBI to release as many details of the investigation publicly as possible to avoid the spread of conspiracy theories, a person familiar with the call told us, granted anonymity to discuss private details. (Both Turner and Jordan are also on the Oversight Committee.)

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee: Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the top Republican on the committee, formally announced on Monday that they would conduct a bipartisan investigation. They sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Wray asking that the two departments, as well as the Secret Service, brief the committee by next week and that they, or their designees, testify publicly by August 1.

Peters, who was in D.C. on Monday for a brief pro-forma session, told reporters that the committee’s investigation would “look at the events that occurred and determine whether or not there were security breaches that we need to close.”

Senate Judiciary: Chair Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) staff reached out to ranking member Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) staff over the weekend to talk about next steps, including getting a briefing and a possible hearing.

A committee spokesperson told us that Durbin was briefed by the FBI Monday. He’s also requested a briefing for committee members, once the chamber is back in town next week, with Secret Service, DHS and the FBI.

What else to watch for: House Republicans are compiling a list of questions to send to Mayorkas. Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview with the Brian Kilmeade Show that the letter would be sent on Monday.

Meanwhile, Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) is floating the idea of an independent commission, with his staff reaching out to other Hill offices to try to gather support for the idea. We’re told there’s no decision here yet — but it’s under discussion.

– Jordain Carney, with an assist from Ursula Perano and John Sakellariadis

THAT OTHER THING THAT IS HAPPENING … 

Hi Milwaukee readers (or those who wish they were there) — we didn’t forget you! Ursula has a good look at what Sen. J.D. Vance’s VP pick means for the Senate and how a vacancy (if there is one) would work. And you can find a play-by-play of everything happening at the GOP convention over at POLITICO’s RNC live blog.

GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, July 15, where we are doing our best melty face emoji impressions when we step outside.

 

Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.

 
 

DEMS FUME AT TRUMP DOC CASE DISMISSAL

Democrats are fuming after Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump — but they’re hopeful a federal appeals court will overturn her decision.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the “breathtakingly misguided ruling,” adding it “must be appealed immediately.” “This is further evidence that Judge Cannon cannot handle this case impartially and must be reassigned,” Schumer said in a statement.

Senate Judiciary Chair Durbin said the “unprecedented” decision from Cannon “should be promptly overturned on appeal.”

Democrats have bashed Cannon’s handling of the case throughout the process and didn’t hold back post-decision Monday.

“It was a procedural decision made by one judge, and so we can expect it to be appealed,” Peters said after the pro forma session Monday. “I think her decision seems to be somewhat of an outlier of other decisions that have been made. But we have to let the process play out.”

Others were even more direct. “This is the stuff of a banana republic, not a democracy,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “Americans will have a clear choice to make on November 5: a wannabe dictator (Trump) or a democratic statesman (Biden).”

Republicans, meanwhile, celebrated the ruling from the Trump-appointed Florida judge.

“Dismissed!” wrote Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), while House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) added: “A win for President Trump, a victory for the rule of law.”

— Anthony Adragna, with an assist from Ursula Perano

EXCLUSIVE: GABE VASQUEZ SETS NEW FUNDRAISING RECORD

Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), who is facing a tough reelection against former Rep. Yvette Herrell, raised $1.3 million and has $2.7 million cash on hand in the second quarter of 2024, POLITICO has learned exclusively.

His fundraising numbers are a new record for the second quarter in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District. He also outraised Herrell, who raised $802,000 last quarter.

The race is a 2022 rematch for the current incumbent and his predecessor, and the Land of Enchantment’s 2nd District is one of the tightest frontline seats in the country; The Cook Partisan Voting Index ranks the seat as D+1.

— Daniella Diaz

HUDDLE HOTDISH

Brian Schatz on fellow elected Democrats: “Not one of us is resigned to anything” about this fall’s elections.

J.D. Vance’s Senate office got some additional security mere moments after he nabbed the vice presidential nomination.

QUICK LINKS 

Rep. Bill Pascrell checked into Paterson hospital with a fever, from Joe Malinconico in The Paterson Press

Amid tense election, Secret Service working with already boosted budget, Peter Cohn at Roll Call

TRANSITIONS 

Drew Hudson is joining TechNet as general counsel and director of federal policy. He previously was legislative director for Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).

TOMORROW IN CONGRESS

The House and Senate are out.

TUESDAY AROUND THE HILL

Crickets.

TRIVIA

FRIDAY’S ANSWER: Sorry guys, our trivia referee is calling a technical foul here. George W.P. Hunt was (as our Thursday winner correctly told us) the first governor of Arizona and elected seven times. But George Clinton, who many readers guessed, was also the first governor of New York and elected seven times.

TODAY’S QUESTION, from Tyler: When and where were the last Republican and Democratic conventions in Ohio, Sen. J.D. Vance’s state?

The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com.

GET INSIDE CONGRESS emailed to your phone each evening.

 

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