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Embattled Secret Service director to face grilling from top House committee over Trump shooting

Embattled Secret Service director to face grilling from top House committee over Trump shooting

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will testify Monday before the House Oversight Committee in a hearing on the circumstances surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Trump – amid intense criticism of her leadership and calls for her to step down. The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Cheatle to appear last week as part of an open investigation into the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was shot in the ear, while one attendee was killed and two others injured.  In a statement, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, confirmed her attendance on Friday. SENATORS CONFRONT SECRET SERVICE CHIEF AT REPUBLICAN CONVENTION: ‘YOU OWE PRESIDENT TRUMP ANSWERS’  “The Secret Service is fully accountable for the safety of its protectees. We are committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure it never happens again. That includes cooperation with Congress, the FBI and other relevant investigations.” In the wake of the shooting, Republicans and some Democrats immediately raised questions about the performance of the agency, including about how a gunman was able to get so close to the former president and fire multiple shots. In his letter to Cheatle, Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., had accused the Secret Service of a lack of transparency in issuing the subpoena. HOUSE GOP LEADERS DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY ON TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: ‘SO MANY QUESTIONS’  “Americans demand answers from Director Kimberly Cheatle about the Secret Service’s historic security failures that led to the attempted assassination of President Trump, murder of an innocent victim, and harm to others in the crowd. We look forward to Director Cheatle’s testimony on Monday, July 22 to deliver the transparency and accountability that Americans deserve,” Comer said in response to Cheatle confirming she would testify. In addition to the Oversight Committee hearing, the House Homeland Security committee has called for a hearing and has subpoenaed documents from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In the Senate, both Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., and ranking member Rand Paul, R-Ky., have launched an investigation. The DHS Office of Inspector General is also reviewing the Secret Service’s handling of the rally In a preview of the pressure Cheatle may face, she was confronted by multiple Republican senators at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. “This was an assassination attempt, you owe the people answers, you owe President Trump answers,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said. TRUMP RALLY SHOOTING: HEART-STOPPING FOOTAGE SHOWS AUDIENCE MEMBERS NOTICING GUNMAN BEFORE SHOTS FIRED Cheatle, meanwhile, has called the shooting “unacceptable” and “something that shouldn’t happen again.” “The buck stops with me,” she told ABC News last week. “I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary.” However, in response to the intense criticism from lawmakers, the Secret Service says she does not intend to resign. “Continuity of operations is paramount during a critical incident and U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has no intentions to step down,” Guglielmi said. “She deeply respects members of Congress and is fiercely committed to transparency in leading the Secret Service through the internal investigation and strengthening the agency through lessons learned in these important internal and external reviews.”

As campaign leak pushes Biden out, will Democrats anoint Kamala Harris?

As campaign leak pushes Biden out, will Democrats anoint Kamala Harris?

In the end, the pressure on President Biden to step aside, orchestrated by increasingly blatant leaks from Democratic leaders and public abandonment by party lawmakers, got to be too great, as was obviously inevitable. Not even an incumbent president of some accomplishment can run for reelection when donors pull the plug, when nearly two-thirds of Democrats don’t want him seeking a second term, and when a public declaration that Joe Must Go is a surefire ticket to television appearances.   Soon after Biden, recovering from COVID, rocked the 2024 race yesterday by endorsing Kamala Harris, which may well have handed her the nomination, the tectonic plates shifted. Not long after Biden declared it “in the best interest of my party and my country for me to stand down,” Harris said she was “honored to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.” Politics is a cold business. Journalists and commentators quickly moved on to speculating who Harris’ running mate will be. WEST VIRGINIA SENATOR TELLS FOX NEWS HE MAY RE-REGISTER AS A DEM AND ENTER WHITE HOUSE RACE What I will never understand is why Biden sent so many signals that he was absolutely, positively staying in the race. He said he looked forward to hitting the campaign trail this week. He had campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon make a rare TV appearance to say the boss wasn’t dropping out, and had a White House spokesperson rip news stories that suggested otherwise.  Harris brings undeniable strengths and weaknesses, but at 59, she is now the youngest candidate in the race to take on Donald Trump. And the latest stunning turn – a president bowing out after all the primary votes have been cast – came a week after Trump was nearly assassinated, the bullet grazing his ear as he turned his head just enough that it saved his life. As Trump said at a weekend rally, “I took a bullet for democracy.” On yesterday’s “Media Buzz,” which ended before Biden’s announcement, Kevin Corke, in Rehoboth Beach, said the Democrats would be “done for an awful long time. The idea that a Black woman would be passed over, the way it would be perceived in the community, would be devastating.” The person most responsible for Biden stepping aside is Nancy Pelosi, who warned the president in private, then had allies such as Adam Schiff go public, then used leaks to the press to make Biden’s position untenable. The former speaker has not endorsed Harris. Neither has Barack Obama, who let it be known he thought his former VP would lose and said yesterday there should be a process for deciding the nomination. RFK JR MAKES BOLD DECLARATION AFTER BIDEN’S PRESIDENTIAL BID COMES TO AN END This may be because they believe Harris would gain more momentum by defeating someone in a mini-primary, rather than looking like a choice imposed by the party bosses. That certainly can look undemocratic, though most Biden delegates would probably follow the president’s lead.  The biggest mistake many journalists make is basing their assessment of Harris’ chances on her poll standing today. Trump very much wanted to run against Biden, especially since that disastrous debate. But it was also Trump, while cursing Kamala from a golf cart, who predicted he’d be running against her. The vice president had a rocky first two years, often at odds with the West Wing, but in the last year has gained in poise and confidence. Here are her assets and liabilities: Harris can claim a share of credit for Biden’s legislative accomplishments (though that was always too backward-looking). But that means she’s also saddled with his failures, such as Afghanistan and the border fiasco (of which she was nominally in charge in a no-win situation). Biden waited way too long to crack down on asylum seekers. She’s already being asked if she was part of a coverup – vouching for the president’s mental acuity while seeing signs of his decline close up. That’s a tough one. WHACKING THE MEDIA: TRUMP, VANCE, BIDEN, MSNBC HOST HIT PRESS FROM ALL SIDES Biden could never quite capture the country’s attention, in part because his inner circle kept him away from journalists – even two Super Bowl interviews –for reasons we now understand. Harris has to demonstrate that she can drive a message and should do plenty of interviews.  Whether another Democrat challenges her or not, Harris, who began making calls yesterday, has to put together a team in a hurry to challenge a well-oiled Trump campaign that has been operating smoothly all year. It was Axios that reported “several top Democrats privately tell us the rising pressure of party congressional leaders and close friends will persuade President Biden to decide to drop out of the presidential race, as soon as this weekend.” Yet deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks told reporters that Biden “is not wavering on anything. The president has made his decision.” And the New York Times was right in reporting that “several people close to President Biden said on Thursday that they believe he has begun to accept the idea that he may not be able to win in November and may have to drop out of the race, bowing to the growing demands of many anxious members of his party.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Now here’s the final irony: Some Republicans and conservatives, including National Review, are saying that if Biden isn’t fit to run a campaign, he can’t run the country now – and should resign. Which, of course, would give Kamala Harris a four-month head start as president.

Manchin considers re-registering as Democrat to run for president

Manchin considers re-registering as Democrat to run for president

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is considering re-registering as a Democrat so he can run for president. Fox News confirmed Manchin, who in May left the Democratic Party and registered as an Independent, said Sunday he is considering re-registering with his original party and running for president. Manchin said he was considering the party switch and throwing his hat in the ring for president, “Even just to have the discussion of bringing the party back to center,” Fox News’ Bret Baier posted on X. Earlier in the day on Sunday, Manchin called on Biden to step aside. WEST VIRGINIA SEN. JOE MANCHIN LEAVES DEMOCRATIC PARTY, REGISTERS AS INDEPENDENT “He will go down with a legacy unlike many people as one of the finest and surely a patriot, an American,” Manchin said of Biden during an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week.” “And so with that, I come with a heavy heart to think the time has come for him to pass the torch to a new generation.”  Manchin changed his party registration from Democrat to independent this year, though he still caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate. In the three weeks since Biden’s disastrous debate performance against former President Trump, Manchin said he “thought the president needed time to evaluate and make a decision if he was going to at that time.” The senator also acknowledged Democratic colleagues facing competitive races in Congress or at the state level in November who fear Biden’s re-election campaign could ruin their chances.  JOE MANCHIN FACES PRESSURE FOR 11TH-HOUR RUN TO SECURE CRITICAL SEAT FOR DEMOCRATS The senator privately expressed grave concern to Biden’s allies, including Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in the immediate aftermath of the debate but decided to cancel scheduled appearances on Sunday shows, Politico previously reported. In doing so, Manchin reportedly intended to give Biden time to decide the matter on his own, but the senator changed course.  Manchin’s surprising decision to switch from a Democrat to an Independent in May came amid reports that he was being encouraged to run for governor of West Virginia by moderate Republicans dissatisfied with the party’s nominee, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. It also came ahead of a deadline for filing as an independent in West Virginia.  Questioned about those reports in late May, Manchin downplayed the rumors but would not rule them out. He said the Democratic nominee, Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, is a friend.  FORCING PRESIDENT BIDEN OUT OF CAMPAIGN MAY HAVE BEEN MORE ABOUT CONGRESS THAN WHITE HOUSE The West Virginia MetroNews reported sources “close” to the senator who said at least 20 Republicans “with financial resources” have encouraged Manchin to run for governor. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Since that report was published, Manchin was reportedly bombarded by people urging him to run at an event at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, according to WVMetroNews. The Greenbrier is notably owned by the state’s current governor, Democrat-turned-Republican Jim Justice, who is term-limited and now is the GOP’s Senate nominee to replace Manchin. Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie and Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.