Rep. Jefferson Van Drew, R-N.J., questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray in a House Judiciary hearing Wednesday about the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13 at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Van Drew claimed that under Wray’s leadership, FBI recruitment standards have dropped resulting in “deterioration in many areas, including physical fitness, illicit drug use, financial irregularities, mental health issues, full-time work experience, and integrity.” He insinuated that’s because Wray hired a chief diversity officer and consequently the FBI lowered its standards to allow more diverse but unqualified applicants — a claim that is unproven.
Wray defended the standards, saying they haven’t changed in appreciable ways in a decade.
The House Oversight Committee grilled Kimberly Cheatle, director of the U.S. Secret Service at the time of the deadly shooting, on Monday. Members on both sides of the aisle called for her resignation and she announced Tuesday she was stepping down. Cheatle repeatedly referred lawmakers seeking details to the investigation being carried out by the FBI.
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