Johnson: Task force on Trump assassination attempts will probe second effort

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said a task force assembled to review the assassination attempt against former President Trump will be expanded to include a second incident from over the weekend.

“We have a responsibility here in Congress to get down to the bottom of this, to figure out why these things are happening and what we can do about it,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday.

“One of the things we’re going to do is expand the scope of the existing task force to cover the second assassination attempt.”

The bipartisan Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump had already requested a briefing from the FBI on the second assassination attempt.

“We’re going to find out what went wrong, and we’re going to make sure it never happens again,” said Chair Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), who represents Butler, Pa., the site of the first attempted assassination against Trump.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested Sunday after he was spotted poking a rifle through the fence of a South Florida golf course where Trump was playing, officials said.

Johnson had also signaled the shifting focus of the task force earlier Tuesday at a speech to the conservative America First Policy Institute (AFPI).

“We’re going to change the emphasis of that to have both events investigated,” Johnson said of the task force. 

And he pledged to push for more security for Trump. 

“We all know the problem is lack of leadership, right? And it goes all the way to the top. And so you’ll see us demanding that this week, we got to protect our 45th president, who I believe is going to be the 47th. He’s the most threatened person on the planet. He has to have the protection that he needs,” Johnson said at the AFPI event. 

The Speaker pointed the finger at President Biden.

“They don’t let me talk to the president very often. That may not be a big surprise to you all. We communicate through staff. It’s a pretty sad situation. In fact, it’s a pretty scary situation,” Johnson said when asked if he had talked to the president about increasing protection for Trump. 

Following the first assassination attempt against Trump, Biden ordered the Secret Service to boost its security of the former president. 

Secret Service acting Director Ronald Rowe said Monday that Trump is receiving the highest level of protection.

“The former president’s protective apparatus allowed for the early identification of the threat and led to a safe evacuation. The increased assets directed by President Biden were in place yesterday,” Rowe said.

“There’s a lot of tactical assets in place, things that have been put in place as a result of what happened 60 days ago. Those elements are working.”

Mychael Schnell contributed to this story.