During a highly publicized hearing where House Members grilled Secret Service head Kimberly Cheatle about security failures allowing a shooter to open fire on former President Trump at a rally ten days ago, several Democrats took the opportunity to shine the light on their gun control agenda– pointing to widespread access to guns as a factor making the Secret Service’s mission more difficult to accomplish.
Gun Control Emphasized
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin from Maryland, spent considerable time in his opening statements addressing one of his top priority issues, gun control.
Shooter’s Firearm Access
Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old shooter who opened fire on Trump on July 13, was using an AR-15 registered to his father. Raskin suggested that it was too easy to obtain firearms such as the AR-15.
Frequency of Mass Shootings
Raskin said, “Mass shootings have become so frequent that we don’t even hear about them anymore. Since the mass shooting in Butler, there have already been at least ten additional mass shootings in America, two of which took place the same day that former President Trump was targeted.”
Policy Prescription
He followed up with the policy prescription that Congress should consider laws making it more difficult “for potential assassins to obtain firearms, generally, the AR-15.”
Democrats’ Perspective
Other Democratic members also suggested that the widespread availability and presence of firearms made the job of the Secret Service more difficult.
Cheatle’s Response
Cheatle evaded the suggestion and did not respond directly to questions about the suggested over-liberality of gun laws.
Frustration from Connelly
Virginia Democrat Connelly expressed frustration with Cheatle’s alleged evasion of the topic. He stated, “I asked a simple question, which deserves a simple answer: the ubiquity of guns, dangerous weapons in America, like AR-15s, has that made your job– that is to say the mission of the Secret Service– easier or more difficult?”
Difficulty of the Job
Without addressing the controversial issue of gun rights, Cheatle responded that providing protective services “is always difficult, and that’s dynamic, and it’s always evolving.”
Connolly’s Criticism
Connolly did not accept Cheatle’s response, grilling her further and criticizing her for not responding directly to his question.
He said, “You’re not making my job easier regarding assessing your qualifications for continuing as Director. Please answer the question; you’re the head of the Secret Service. You’re speaking on behalf of 8,000 members who put their lives on the line. We just had a failure by your admission. Do guns make your job easier or harder?”
Mitigating All Threats
Cheatle replied, “I think the Secret Service’s job is difficult every day, and we need to make sure that we are mitigating all threats.”
Avoiding Controversy
If Cheatle had responded directly to Connolly’s question, she surely would have opened a whole other line of inquiry and division between the Committee members who represent both positions on gun rights and gun control.
Republican Gun Comments at Hearing
The Republican side of the aisle also brought up guns, as Rep. Pat Fallon from Texas told colleagues on the Committee that he shot his AR-15 to “recreate the events” of the failed assassination attempt.
Fallon Recreated Near-Fatal Assassination Scenario
Fallon said, “I own an AR-15 and last time I shot it, I shot it one time my whole life, was six years ago. That is until Saturday, where we recreated the events, in Savoy, Texas, we recreated what happened in Butler. I was lying prone on a sloped roof at 130 yards at 6:30 at night. You know what the result was? Fifteen out of 16 kill shots”
“And the one I missed would have hit the President’s ear. That’s a 94 percent success rate, and the shooter was a better shot than me.” Fallon ended his hearing time calling for Cheatle to be fired.
