This article will be updated throughout the hearing. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is testifying before the House Oversight Committee Monday, following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Multiple lawmakers have called for Cheatle to resign after a gunman fired multiple shots at Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, 33 miles north of Pittsburgh, on July 13. A fireman, Corey Comperatore, died shielding his family, and two other rally attendees were injured.  Lawmakers are expected to press Cheatle over the security failure during Monday’s 10 a.m. ET hearing. Cheatle Says No Requests From Trump Team Denied for Butler Rally Update, 10:53 a.m.: The Secret Service is investigating how a shooter could get past the Secret Service to shoot a former president and presidential candidate, Cheatle said.  “How can a 20 year old with his father’s AR-15 assault weapon climb onto a roof with a direct 150-yard line of sight to the speaker’s podium without the Secret Service or local police stopping him?” Rep. Jamie Raskin asked. “So again, sir, I will say, we are nine days out from this event,” Cheatle said, “and I would like to know those answers as well, which is why we are going through these investigations, to be able to determine that fully.” Cheatle again accepted responsibility for the “tragedy.” “We are going to look into how this happened,” she said, “and we are going to take corrective action to ensure that it never happens again.” Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, asked Cheatle if she denied the Trump campaign’s request for additional protective resources. “There were no assets denied for that event in Butler on the thirteenth,” Cheatle responded.  She said requests from Trump’s campaign staff “were granted.”  The Secret Service did not know the gunman had a weapon before Trump took the stage, Cheatle confirmed.  Comer Grills Cheatle About Why No Secret Service on the Roof Update: Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said, “There had been reports that agents were supposed to be on the roof, but it was hot that day and they didn’t want to be on the roof.” Cheatle replied, “What I can tell you is that there was a plan in place to provide overwatch, and we are still looking into responsibilities and who was going to provide overwatch. The Secret Service in general—not speaking specifically to this incident—when we are providing overwatch—whether that be through counter snipers or other technology, prefer to have sterile rooftops.” Comer followed up, asking if the Secret Service used any drones.  “I’m not going to get into specifics of that day,” the director responded. “There are times during a security plan when the Secret Service does deploy an asset like a drone.” Comer noted reports that the shoot deployed a drone before the rally.  “I am waiting for the final report,” Cheatle said.  “Do you know–I’m not asking yes or no–but do you know if the shooter used a drone before the shooting?” Comer asked.  Still inconclusive, Cheatle replied, “That information has been passed to us from the FBI.” She did not “get into specifics” when asked how many agents were assigned to Trump’s detail at the rally.  “We feel there was a sufficient number of agents assigned,” she said.  “There were reports that several agents assigned to the rally on July 13 were temporary agents—agents not normally assigned to President Trump. Is that accurate?” Comer asked.  “The agents that were assigned to President Trump are Secret Service agents that provide close protection to him,” she said.   Comer went on to ask, “Before July 13, had the Trump detail requested additional resources?” “For the event on July 13, the detail, the assets that were requested for that day were given,” she said.  Cheatle Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ Update, 10:40 a.m.: The assassination attempt on Trump was the “most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades,” Cheatle said during her opening remarks.  “The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we failed,” Cheatle said, adding, “I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency.”  Cheatle also offered her condolences to the family of Corey Comperatore, a fire chief who died shielding his wife and daughter from sniper fire.  “We must learn what happened and I will move heaven and earth to ensure that an incident like July 13th does not happen again,” the Secret Service director told Congress.  Cheatle defended the law enforcement on the ground at the rally the day of the assassination, noting that the Secret Service can’t do “our job without them.” She also praised the Secret Service agents who shielded Trump “with their own bodies” while shots were being fired.  “We will not rest until we have explored every option and we will leave no stone unturned,” Cheatle said, referring to the investigation into the security failures that led to the assassination attempt on Trump.  Secret Service Now ‘Face of Incompetence’ Update, 10:30 a.m.: The Secret Service has become the “face of incompetence” after failing to protect former President Donald Trump from an assassination attempt, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said Monday. “The Secret Service’s protective mission is to protect us and visiting world leaders and safeguard U.S. elections through protection of candidates and nominees,” said Comer, who is chair of the House Oversight Committee. “The Secret Service has a zero-fail mission, but it failed on July 13, and in the days leading up to the rally. The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a significant budget, but it has now become the face of incompetence.” The assassination attempt was preventable, according to Comer.  “While we give overwhelming thanks to the individual Secret Service agents who did their jobs under immense pressure,” Comer said, “this tragedy was preventable.” Comer said the committee is concerned the Secret Service “lacks the proper management to keep protectees safe from bad actors.”  “Americans demand accountability,” he said, “but no one is yet to be fired for this historic failure.” The hearing will provide the Americans with answers about the assassination attempt, Comer said.  “We will ask these questions because the Secret Service and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, have been unwilling to provide answers to the American people,” Comer said.  The Kentucky Republican called for Cheatle to resign. Comer said the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security has dodged the committee’s questions on the assassination attempt.  “The DHS has sought to push this hearing to a different time,” he said. “The Secret Service has suggested the hearing occur without media presence, and both agencies have provided only shallow explanations to Congress about what happened on July 13.”  “It shouldn’t take this much time or preparation for Director Cheatle to tell the truth and to be transparent with the American people,” he continued. Raskin Pushes Gun Control, Takes Aim at AR-15 Update, 10:26 a.m: Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., made a push for gun control during his opening remarks, as Democrat lawmakers frequently do after shooting. Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, specifically went after the AR-15, which the would-be assassin used from the rooftop.  “Some are calling it a miracle that President Trump escaped this AR-15 attack unlike so many thousands of citizens who have been killed or seriously wounded in other AR-15 shootings,” Raskin said.  Raskin said America had 655 mass shootings in 2023, which is defined as at least four people being shot during an incident. “What happened in Butler, Pennsylvania was a double failure, the failure of the Secret Service to properly protect President Trump, and the failure of Congress to properly protect our people from criminal gun violence,” Raskin said.  “We must therefore ask hard questions about whether our laws are making it too easy for potential assassins to obtain firearms generally and the AR-15 specifically,” Raskin said.  The post Secret Service Director Testifies Before Congress appeared first on The Daily Signal.