Today, several Senate Republicans expressed dissatisfaction with the briefing they received from top officials regarding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The briefing, which included Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, Deputy Director Ron Rowe, FBI Director Chris Wray, and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, was met with criticism from members of the Senate GOP.
The briefing, held at 3 p.m. ET, was followed by a similar session with the House of Representatives. Senate GOP Conference Chair John Barrasso went as far as calling for Cheatle to step down from her position following the briefing. Barrasso emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, 'Someone has died. The President was almost killed. The head of the Secret Service needs to go.'
Senator Barrasso criticized the briefing as a 'cover-your-ass' session, pointing out that the suspect had been identified as suspicious just an hour before the shooting, carrying a range finder and a backpack. He highlighted the failure of the Secret Service to maintain visual contact with the suspect and the lack of accountability in the aftermath of the incident.
Senator Ron Johnson also expressed his disappointment with the briefing, noting that only four questions were allowed during the session. Johnson took to X to share a list of questions he had submitted to the briefers, indicating his dissatisfaction with the limited interaction during the briefing.
Johnson described the USSS Senate briefing as 'unbelievably uninformative' and mentioned that he was awaiting responses to his submitted questions. The lack of transparency and accountability in the briefing left several Senate Republicans frustrated and seeking more answers regarding the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
