U.S. Sen. John Barrasso chased down and confronted the head of the Secret Service during the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, demanding answers to security breakdowns that allowed an assassination attempt on former President Trump’s life during a political rally this weekend.
Barrasso, joined by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and another U.S. senator, berated Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for several minutes in the hallways of the Fiserv Forum while the Republican National Convention was taking place in the Milwaukee, Wisc., arena.
The clash appeared to have been sparked by an earlier conference call with all 100 U.S. senators, where Cheatle and FBI leaders attempted to address questions for Saturday’s security failures at the Trump rally in Butler, Penn., where one man was killed and Trump wounded by a lone sniper.
How It Starts
A video posted by Blackburn to X (formerly Twitter) appears to show the first direct interaction on Wednesday between Barrasso and Cheatle starting with the Wyoming senator expressing his disappointment about a call that all 100 U.S. senators were in on with heads of the Secret Service and FBI to discuss security protocols at the Trump rally.
During the confrontation, he angrily expressed disappointment in Cheatle’s leadership.
“Everyone one of us had questions that we wanted to ask, we felt we didn’t get any of the responses that were necessary,” Barrasso is seen telling Cheatle.
Barrasso then told the Secret Service head that he’s already called for her resignation and urged her to either resign that night or start answering all of their questions. He demanded “a full explanation right now.”
Barasso then started repeating all of the security breakdowns to Cheatle that allowed for the shooting to take place.
He expressed exasperation at how the failures could occurr when the Secret Service knew there was could be a potential threat on Trump’s life at least an hour prior to the event.
“You put him (Trump) within less than an inch of his life,” Barrasso told Cheatle.
Cheatle nodded her head but said nothing in response.
Blackburn, standing nearby, jumped in and asked Cheatle why Trump was allowed to go on stage.
Cheatle did not answer, saying, “I don’t think is the forum to have that discussion.”
“I’m happy to answer questions but we will do it in the appropriate forum,” she said.
The confrontation took place in the convention center in Milwaukee before Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance, a senator from Ohio, was addressing the RNC.
Barrasso and Blackburn were joined by Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford during the impromptu meeting.
About That Meeting
Cheatle’s responses irritated Barrasso, who told her “you hung up on us,” referring to the conference call earlier in the day. Blackburn later explained on X that this was in reference to the question queue being closed without warning during the conference call.
Barrasso told Fox News on Wednesday that this was a “100% cover-your-a—briefing.”
He also revealed on X that the shooter who was identified an hour before the attempted assassination, was also seen by law enforcement with a rangefinder and a backpack at that time.
Also revealed during the call: The gunman who tried to kill Trump, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, used his cellphone and other devices to search for images of Trump and President Biden, along with an array of public figures before the event.
Fox News also reported that Crooks posted a threatening message on a gaming platform ahead of his shooting, writing “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.”
Cheatle tried to end the conversation with the two senators, saying she had business to attend to at the RNC, to which Barrasso offered, “we can find a place to go right now” to talk further.
The Chase Begins
When Cheatle said she had to go, Barrasso said “we’ll leave with you then.”
Cheatle didn’t take this comment literally and said farewell to the senators.
“No, no, no, we’re going with you,” Barrasso said.
Barrasso, Blackburn and their aides proceeded to follow Cheatle through the hallways of the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc., continuing to berate Cheatle. Barrasso appeared animated, yelling directly at the Secret Service director.
“You have no shame, no concern, you’re supposed to protect the president of the United States,” he could be seen shouting.
An unidentified man following the group said “you’re supposed to answer to us.” Blackburn added, “you owe the people answers, you owe President Trump answers.” Another person yelled that Cheatle was “stonewalling.”
Cheatle remained stonefaced and refused to look at any of the senators. She began walking up a set of stairs.
The senators continued to follow Cheatle with Barrasso yelling out, “You cannot run away from your responsibility to the people of the United States.”
“You answer to the people of this country,” he added, trailing Cheatle through the halls.
Eventually Cheatle entered a narrow hallway, where access appeared blocked to the senators.
A source told Fox News that Cheatle was visiting a luxury suite at the event.
After Cheatle walked away from the senators, Barrasso offered this message for the cameras.
“The Secret Service is running away from the United States Senate, refuses to answer questions for the American people about the threat of the life on Donald Trump and what they knew, when they knew it, and why they ignored it,” he said.
Recap
After the clash, Barrasso and Blackburn posted on social media, recapping the interaction.
“She can run, but she cannot hide,” Blackburn said.
Barrasso later posted his frustration on X.
“No has taken responsibility. No one has been held responsible,” he said. “Someone had died. The president was almost killed. The head of the Secret Service needs to go.”
Cheatle’s office sent a statement to Fox News late Wednesday, saying she will not step down.
“Continuity of operations is paramount during a critical incident and U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has no intentions to step down,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi stated.
“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.”
The Department of Homeland Security has opened a second investigation into the U.S. Secret Service for its handling of the attempted assassination.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
