Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a rally on Saturday demonstrated a "failure" from the Secret Service, which falls under his purview.
Mayorkas echoed President Biden’s comments about the shooting of the former president and called on the political rhetoric in the country to be toned down on CNN on Monday. CNN’s Kate Bolduan asked Mayorkas on “News Central” whether the shooting was a result of a failure of the Secret Service.
“An incident like this cannot happen. That is precisely why President Biden directed an independent review, so that that review, its conclusions and its recommendations, have the full confidence of the American public,” he responded. “We will carefully analyze in an independent and thorough fashion what occurred. Recommendations will be made. Those recommendations will be implemented.”
When pressed further on whether it was a “failure” of the agency, Mayorkas said it was.
“Kate, when I say that something like this cannot happen, we are speaking of a failure. We are going to analyze, through an independent review, how that occurred, why it occurred, and make recommendations and findings to make sure it doesn't happen again,” he said.
“I couldn’t be clearer,” he added.
The Secret Service has faced intense criticism since a gunman opened fire during Trump’s rally on Saturday. A bullet grazed Trump’s ear, while one rally attendee was killed and another two were critically injured.
Now, GOP lawmakers are pledging congressional investigations into the shooting, and Biden has directed an independent review of rally security. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said the agency will cooperate with the independent review and congressional investigations.
The Secret Service is a law enforcement agency housed within the Department of Homeland Security. Following the shooting on Saturday, Mayorkas said that the department and the Secret Service were working with local law enforcement to respond to and investigate the incident.
“We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms and commend the Secret Service for their swift action today,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
“We are engaged with President Biden, former President Trump, and their campaigns, and are taking every possible measure to ensure their safety and security. Maintaining the security of the Presidential candidates and their campaign events is one of our Department’s most vital priorities."
