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Ocasio-Cortez Criticizes Secret Service Director Over Report Timeline
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) expressed her dissatisfaction with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle regarding the 60-day timeline projected for an initial report on the security lapses that led to the assassination attempt on former President Trump, calling it “not acceptable.”
Cheatle, who was testifying before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday, informed committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) that the internal mission assurance investigation aims to be completed within 60 days.
“We are currently in the midst of … an especially concentrated presidential campaign,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referencing President Biden’s recent decision to withdraw from his reelection bid and Vice President Harris’s subsequent campaign launch. She also highlighted that elections across the country are just about 100 days away.
“The idea that a report will be finalized in 60 days, let alone before any actionable decisions can be made, is simply not acceptable,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “It has been 10 days since an assassination attempt on a former president of the United States, regardless of party. There need to be answers.”
“This is not a moment of theater. We need to make policy decisions, and we need to make them now,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “That may require legislation that we must pass in the immediate term. And without that, we are flying blind.”
In response, Cheatle assured Ocasio-Cortez that immediate actions are already underway. “We have been conducting analysis all along, and we have been adding additional features to our security details since this incident occurred,” Cheatle said.
Cheatle also noted that, apart from the Secret Service’s internal investigation, there are several office of inspector general investigations and a Department of Justice investigation in progress.
Moreover, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on Sunday the formation of a bipartisan, independent panel to conduct a 45-day review of the assassination attempt.