Congressional Republicans and some Democrats are fuming at what they see as the slow pace of investigations into the two assassination attempts on former President Trump.
The Secret Service foiled a second potential shooting Sunday. But some Senate Republicans note the upper chamber hasn't held a public hearing on the shooting in Butler, Pa., from July.
"The Senate still refuses to do that. We had a classified hearing after the Butler, Pennsylvania time period where we had the opportunity to ask some questions. We need another hearing to be able to push and say what is the next step here to make sure this doesn't happen again." -Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) on Newsmax.
Even some Democrats have vented frustration at what they describe as a lack of details from the Department of Homeland Security.
"I am reaching the point of total outrage because the response from DHS has been totally lacking," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told reporters. "It's tantamount to stonewalling."
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) says the bipartisan task force tackling the Butler shooting will also investigate the foiled shooting from Sunday.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has promised to "spare no resource" in investigating the assassination attempts, although The Wall Street Journal reports that additional charges against suspect Ryan Routh could be a challenge since the suspect never fired a shot or had Trump in his line of sight. Routh so far only faces charges on federal gun crimes.
Republicans are blaming Democratic rhetoric for the two attempts on Trump's life.
"We all know Kamala Harris, her quotes, where she said quote Trump is a threat to our democracy and our fundamental freedoms. She said this over and over again. Not just before the first attempt, even after the first attempt on President Trump's life ... And then the second attempted shooter — he was regurgitating the same language as Kamala. So this is no longer a dog whistle, which it's been on the left, it's now being received by some unhinged people as a call to action." — Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) blamed Trump for raising the temperature.
"I would suggest to Donald Trump, tone it down. Let's have a debate on issues," Sanders said on MSNBC.
Perspectives:
The Hill: Anti-Trumpers court trouble with rhetoric.
The New York Times: Trump, outrage and the modern era of political violence.
City Journal: Media says Trump made the shooters do it.
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