By:Molly Gibbs
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is calling for Congress to take a closer look at presidential security following the third assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
Hawley sent a letter on Monday to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul of Kentucky calling for the panel to investigate the president’s safety, security resources and whether reforms suggested by Congress in the past have been implemented.
“I believe it is necessary for the Committee to convene a hearing to assess the adequacy of presidential security arrangements and resources in the current threat environment,” wrote Hawley, who serves on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Cole Tomas Allen, the gunman apprehended Saturday just one floor above the ballroom where Trump and senior members of his administration were dining, was charged Monday with attempted assassination of the president.
This marks the third attempt on Trump’s life since July 2024, when a gunman grazed the then-presidential candidate’s ear with a bullet. A few weeks later, Trump had to be rushed off his Florida golf course after a gunman fired on him there.
Asked about Hawley’s suggestion, Paul said he is waiting to get more information about the incident before moving forward, but agreed that something has to be done, either by Congress or the Secret Service.
“I’m also of two minds in the sense that it’s very difficult to protect the president, and in that sense it was successful,” Paul said. “Did he get farther than people wanted? Yeah. But I think he got about 10 feet past the security step, so he didn’t get very far.”
According to a criminal complaint, Allen ran through a security checkpoint holding a long gun at approximately 8:40 p.m. One Secret Service agent was shot in the chest, but was wearing a ballistic vest and fired at Allen multiple times. It is not currently clear who fired the shot that hit the agent, who was taken to the hospital but has since been released. Allen sustained minor injuries and was not shot, but fell to the ground and was apprehended, according to the court document.
The complaint also contains an email and file found by law enforcement that Allen sent to his family and a former employer just before the incident occurred. The file, labeled Apology and Explanation, stated that “administration officials (not including Mr. Patel)” were Allen’s targets. Administration officials at the dinner, including the president, vice president and cabinet members, were rushed out of the ballroom by Secret Service agents as guests ducked under tables.
At a news conference Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to Democratic rhetoric as the driving force of political violence against Trump and other administration officials. Democratic leaders are already pushing back against that narrative. House Minority leader Hakeem Jefferies, D-N.Y., at a news conference Monday called Leavitt a “stone-cold liar.”
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, meanwhile, renewed the administration’s demand for ABC to fire late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel over a pre-White House Correspondents’ dinner joke about the first couple.
The incident has also led the president and his allies to renew calls for the completion of the White House ballroom. Construction of the space is currently on hold as court proceedings play out. Proponents of the ballroom, including Trump himself, say it would allow for tighter security at high-profile events like the dinner. However, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is a private event and locating non-government events to taxpayer-paid spaces could raise logistical and ethical problems.
Construction of the ballroom has been a point of tension as questions arise about if the president needs congressional approval. Hawley said he wasn’t sure if Congress needs to approve it or not, but he would prefer if taxpayers didn’t have to foot the bill. Trump has been cagey about the source of funding for the ballroom, last estimated to cost $400 million, but insists private donors will pay for it.
This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian. It can be republished in print or online.