House Republicans will soon launch a formal investigation into the apparent security lapses before the attempted assassination of President Trump, which saw the former commander-in-chief shot in the ear and one supporter dead and two injured at a rally in Pennsylvania Saturday evening. 

The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Congressman James Comer, says he has already been in touch with the Secret Service about his probe, and that he hopes to send the formal request for documents and testimony “soon.”

“There are many questions and Americans demand answers. I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing,” Mr. Comer said. “The Oversight Committee will send a formal invitation soon.”

The biggest questions for many are about the shooter’s ability to get so close to the former president. According to satellite images provided by law enforcement, the assailant was within 150 yards of Trump, well within range for even a mediocre marksman.. 

The BBC interviewed one man who says he saw the shooter climb on top of the roof with a rifle and was trying to alert law enforcement about that fact. “We noticed a guy … bear-crawling on the roof of the building beside us, 50 feet away from us,” the man, whose name was not provided, said. “We’re like: ‘Hey, man! There’s a guy on the roof with a rifle!’ and the police are like: ‘Huh? What?’”

The House Homeland Security Committee is also demanding that the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service answer questions about the security failures. 

According to Fox News, the committee chairman, Congressman Mark Green, plans to speak with the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, and the Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, on Sunday. Mr. Green will ask that “documents and information” related to the attempted killing be turned over to his committee no later than July 19. Public hearings could take place as soon as July 22. 

The Saturday shooting is the first time since 1981 that an American president — current or former — was shot by a would-be assassin. The last time a non-incumbent president was shot was in 1912, when President Theodore Roosevelt, like Trump, was struck while giving a speech. 

The former president was grazed by a bullet during the rally that left his ear wounded and his face bloodied. The would-be assassin, 20-year old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed on the scene, but not before he killed a rally attendee and wounded two others. Law enforcement has not yet released details about possible motivations for the shooting. 

On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal and other outlets are reporting that Crooks had explosive devices in both his car and his home, and that the firearm he used to shoot Trump belonged to his father.

During an appearance on the “Today Show” on Sunday, Speaker Johnson said he and some members of Congress had already received security briefings about the incident and that he himself had spoken to Mr. Mayorkas. 

“I … asked him some pointed questions with regards to homeland security and what happened there,” Mr. Johnson said of his conversation with the secretary. “I’ve already announced that Congress will do a full investigation of the tragedy yesterday to determine where there were lapses in security and anything else that the American people need to know.”

Much of the criticism focused on Ms. Cheatle, who has led the Secret Service since 2022 after being appointed to the position by President Biden. Immediately prior to serving as Secret Service director, she worked as the head of global security at PepsiCo, charged with managing the security operations of the multi-billion dollar corporation. Prior to that, Ms. Cheatle served as a deputy assistant director of the Secret Service in 2017 and 2018 after serving as an agent for more than 20 years. 

In a letter sent Sunday, Congressman Reuben Gallego, a Marine and the Democrats’ Arizona Senate candidate this year, asked Ms. Cheatle a number of questions about the security failings.

Mr. Gallego asked if either the Trump campaign or the former president’s security detail requested additional protection, if the perimeter was secured by agents, and if onlookers did, in fact, try to warn law enforcement about the shooter before he began firing.

He also asked if the agency will “reconsider” its decision to deny protection to independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A bipartisan duo of legislators is already pushing to enhance security protections for both Trump and Mr. Biden, as well as granting a detail to Mr. Kennedy. 

On Sunday, Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres and Republican Congressman Mike Lawler said in a joint statement that “anything less would be a disservice to our democracy.”

The soon-to-be-introduced legislation comes just a few months after a group of gleeful Democrats dropped a bill that would have stripped Trump of all Secret Service protection because he is a convicted felon.

The “DISGRACED Former Protectees Act” was authored before Trump was convicted, but was clearly aimed at the former president. 

“Unfortunately, current law doesn’t anticipate how Secret Service protection would impact the felony prison sentence of a protectee — even a former President,” the lead sponsor, Congressman Benny Thompson, said in a statement. “It is regrettable that it has come to this, but this previously unthought-of scenario could become our reality.” 

Just minutes after the shooting occurred on Saturday, a staffer for Mr. Thompson, Jacqueline Marsaw, said in a Facebook post that Crooks should have taken shooting lessons “so you don’t miss next time.”

The post was deleted, but not before it was reported by the Clarion-Ledger. Mr. Thompson has not withdrawn the legislation, and said in a statement that he was “glad” Trump was safe.