CNN
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The Republican National Convention on Wednesday saw a shocking scene in which a group of Republican senators chased Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle through Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum, yelling at her for refusing to answer questions about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“This is an assassination attempt! You owe the American people an explanation. You owe President Trump an explanation!” Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee yelled at Cheatle, who kept walking, head down and ignoring the senators’ criticism.
“This is obstruction!” said John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican senator.
Blackburn later posted a video of the encounter to Mr. X, writing, “The American people have a right to answers from the Secret Service.”
The standoff came after Trump met with Cheatle on Tuesday and was personally briefed on the assassination attempt, according to a source familiar with the meeting.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General announced early Wednesday that it was investigating the circumstances surrounding Saturday’s assassination attempt, and Republican lawmakers have vowed to launch their own investigations.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday night, Cheatle said the U.S. Secret Service was “solely responsible” for the implementation and enforcement of security at the site of Saturday’s rally.
“For that particular site, we have divided up the areas of responsibility, but the Secret Service is entirely responsible for the design, implementation and execution of the site,” she told CNN.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Whitney Wilde and Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.
