Mayorkas appoints former Obama and Bush administration officials to investigate Trump assassination attempt

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has announced the names of the members who will lead the independent investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

The independent investigation, ordered by President Joe Biden last week, includes former Department of Homeland Security officials who served under previous administrations, as well as law enforcement officials. The panel’s investigation will span a 45-day period, according to a Department of Homeland Security press release Sunday evening.

Members of the panel include former DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, who served under President Barack Obama; Frances Townsend, former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush; Mark Filip, former federal judge and assistant attorney general to President George W. Bush; and David Mitchell, former chief of the Maryland State Police and former secretary of public safety and homeland security for the state of Delaware.

“We are committed to getting to the bottom of what happened on July 13, and I am grateful to the distinguished members of this independent investigation who will bring decades of experience in law enforcement and security operations to this important investigation,” Mayorkas said in a statement. “This independent investigation will examine what happened and provide actionable recommendations to ensure they carry out their mission as effectively as possible and something like this never happens again.”

The Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service have been under increased scrutiny since the shooting at Trump’s rally in Bulter County, Pennsylvania. In the shooting, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks wounded the former president, killed one rally attendee and injured two others.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has faced calls for her resignation in the week since the shooting and is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday. Cheatle has resisted calls for her resignation but admitted in an interview with ABC News that the shooting was “unacceptable.”

“The responsibility is mine,” Cheatle said, noting that as director of the Secret Service, she has responsibility for investigating the security breaches. “I have to make sure that we conduct a review and that we provide our personnel with the resources they need.”

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is among the Republicans calling for Cheatle’s resignation. On Monday, he announced the creation of a special task force to consolidate the congressional investigation.

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The Secret Service admitted Saturday that it had rejected requests from the former president’s team for more security and more resources.

“In some cases where special Secret Service units or resources were not available, the agency made changes to ensure the safety of the protected individuals,” Guglielmi told the Washington Examiner“This may include leveraging state or local partners to perform specific tasks or identifying alternatives to reduce a protected person’s public exposure.”