Republican lawmaker alleges Mayorkas refused to provide greater Secret Service protection for Trump

Mike Waltz, Republican representative from Florida, posted on social media that the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, refused to provide greater Secret Service protection to former President Trump on several occasions. 

The lawmaker made the accusation after Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania. "I have very reliable sources telling me there have been repeated requests for stronger secret service protection for President Trump. Denied by Secretary Mayorkas," Waltz posted on X.

According to sources consulted by Fox News, the House Homeland Security Committee is planning to investigate whether Trump was denied greater protection from the Secret Service before the rally: "The Committee has seen these reports, as well, and are going to be conducting thorough oversight into what happened both leading up to and in the immediate aftermath of the attempted assassination of President Trump. Obviously, such reports are deeply troubling and demand investigation."

Mike Waltz joins House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, who formally asked Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheadle to testify at a hearing on Monday, July 22. Comer also posted his request on X. 

"Americans demand answers about the assassination attempt of President Trump." 

Influencer and media commentator Dan Bongino, who specializes in security issues, spoke out against the actions of Donald Trump's Secret Service security team, echoing allegations that the former president was denied greater protection. "I want to repeat, and can absolutely confirm, the USSS Director Kim Cheatle has repeatedly turned down requests for a larger security footprint around President Trump. Despite knowing the threat level is catastrophic," he said while again demanding the official resign. 

The Federalist CEO and founder Sean Davis also claims to know sources close to the Trump campaign who claimed that requests to bolster his Secret Service team had been turned down more than once. 

U.S. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi responded to the allegations with a post on X: "There's an untrue assertion that a member of the former President’s team requested additional security resources & that those were rebuffed. This is absolutely false. In fact, we added protective resources & technology & capabilities as part of the increased campaign travel tempo."