Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) blasted the Secret Service and authorities for failing to secure the area surrounding former President Trump before another attempted assassination against him on Sunday.
Burchett discussed the ongoing details of the assassination outside Trump International Golf Club, where Trump was golfing at the time. Authorities said that the suspect, identified later as Ryan Wesley Routh was between 300 and 500 yards away before Secret Service began shooting at him.
The congressman is seeking answers as to how the suspect got so close to the former President. He also revealed that many other legislators are demanding increased security.
“They are already calling now. And you got to ask yourself, why was there not a drone flying over wherever the president is? This is ridiculous,” Burchett said.
The Tennessee lawmaker had harsh criticisms for the Secret Service but praised the agents who were able to spot the suspect and fire at him.
“The problem, in my opinion, and the public’s, is that you have a Secret Service that’s compromised and lacking in leadership. You’ve got some great agents in the field, including one who fired that shot. Why would anyone be near this perimeter? The line of vision that we are talking about is beyond my comprehension. We need to find out the truth. Burchett: “I don’t believe we’ll get answers during this administration. But hopefully, under Trump’s administration, we will clean out this rat’s nest.”
He said, “There’s no way in hell anybody should have been so close to President Trump using an AK-47 with a scope or an AK-47 Steel with a scope.”
Burchett dismissed Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw, stating that security around Trump is lower because he’s not the president.
“Everybody sort of knows his pattern. And I know he likes to play golf, and they know when he’s in Florida, he’s going to play golf. Dadgummit, they should have closed it off. They have the power to do that. They ought to do that. They’re going to come to us for more money. I think they need to quit with the DEI hires and start putting qualified people out there in decision-making positions instead of what they’re doing right now,” Burchett said.
Burchett was also a part of the House Task Force on the July first attempt to assassinate Donald Trump.
