House Republican on second Trump assassination attempt: Secret Service is ‘compromised’

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said in the wake of a second apparent assassination attempt against former President Trump that the Secret Service is “compromised” and “lacks in leadership.”

“The problem is, you’ve got a Secret Service, at least in my opinion, [and in the] public’s eye, that is compromised and that it lacks in leadership,” Burchett told host Jon Scott on Sunday on “Fox Reports,” in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.

“And you’ve got brave agents on the ground, obviously, one who took that shot,” Burchett added. “But why in the world would anybody be anywhere near the perimeter of this?”

Authorities in Florida said Sunday that a Secret Service agent saw a rifle barrel sticking through a fence while Trump was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach. The agent fired shots and a man dropped an AK-47-style rifle with a scope and fled in an SUV, officials added.

Law enforcement said authorities apprehended a man in Martin County in a vehicle that matched a witness’s description.

NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, reported the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt is a white male named Ryan Wesley Routh.

“So, we’ve gotta get some answers. I don’t think we’re [going to] get ‘em during this administration, but hopefully under the Trump administration we’ll clean this rat’s nest out,” Burchett said in his Fox News appearance.

In July, a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. Trump and two other people were wounded and an attendee was killed. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle later resigned following testifying at a congressional hearing to review the incident.

The Hill has reached out to the Secret Service for comment on Burchett’s remarks.