Report: 4 Republicans did not show up to visit the site where Trump was assassinated

The 12-member task force consists of seven Republicans and five Democrats and has all the investigative powers of the House of Representatives, including the right to issue subpoenas.

But only three GOP lawmakers were in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Monday to visit the scene of the shooting for the first time, the Post reported.

Aside from Rep. Mike Kelly, chairman of the task force, the only other Republicans present were Reps. David Joyce (Ohio) and Laurel Lee (Florida).

According to the Post, Reps. Mark Green (Tennessee), Michael Waltz (Florida), Clay Higgins (Louisiana) and Pat Fallon (Texas) were among the lawmakers who visited the venue. The reason for their absence was not given at the press conference, the newspaper added.

Kelly said there was no substitute for being there.

“It's a difference between night and day,” he said, according to the New York Times. “When you're actually standing here on this site, when you're actually walking across this site, when you're actually walking up to the building, when you're actually standing up on the roof.”

The attempt on Trump's life sparked widespread public outcry and led to an intense investigation into the Secret Service and its possible failings that allowed the shooter to get so close to him.

It was the closest assassination attempt on a U.S. president or presidential candidate since the assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

The motives of the shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was shot by a Secret Service sniper, remain unknown.

A video on Waltz's Facebook page shows that the congressman did not attend the site visit but joined Trump at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the 13 soldiers killed during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

A spokesman for Waltz told Business Insider that the congressman had already committed to the ceremony before the site visit.

“As a veteran of the Afghanistan War who has spent a great deal of time with the Gold Star families of Abbey Gate and held them accountable, this memorial ceremony meant a great deal to Representative Waltz,” the spokesman said, adding, “He hopes to receive all relevant information soon.”

Waltz had previously expressed frustration with the speed of the task force's progress, telling the New York Post just last week that he was “frustrated with how slowly we are moving and how little we have learned.”

He also questioned, without providing evidence, whether the shooter acted alone, the NY Post reported.

It's not clear from their social media posts how Green, Higgins and Fallon spent Monday. The lawmakers did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Higgins had already visited Butler on August 8 to prepare a detailed “preliminary investigation report,” which he presented to Kelly on August 12.

He is one of 16 Republicans who have been criticized for spreading conspiracy theories claiming the FBI's involvement in the January 6 insurrection.

In addition to the bipartisan effort, MAGA-aligned GOP lawmakers also held their own hearing on the attempted assassination, inviting figures such as former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino and businessman and former SEAL Erik Prince to testify on the Secret Service's performance.

Speaking to the War Room podcast last week, Rep. Eli Crane, who is not on the task force, said the bipartisan committee cannot be trusted to not be “political” in its investigation.

“We don't trust the federal government to actually do the work that needs to be done,” he added, according to the Times.

Correction: August 29, 2024 – An earlier version of this story misidentified one of the Republicans who attended the site visit on Monday. His name is Mike Kelly, not Mark Kelly, and he is the chairman of the task force, not its ranking member.