A coalition of Texas Republicans has signed on a letter urging Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett to resign following her support of a bill that would have stripped former President Donald Trump of his Secret Service detail. The bill has garnered attention, and criticism, in light of the July 13 assassination attempt that disrupted the former president’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Crockett was one of nearly a dozen house Democrats who signed on to a bill titled the "DISGRACED Former Protectees Act," in April, which would end Secret Service protection for convicted felons. In May, Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in a New York City court for falsifying business records. The bill was sent to the House Judiciary committee, where it has not moved forward.
State Rep. Brian Harrison initiated the call for Crockett’s resignation after the attempted assassination, which resulted in the former president’s ear being grazed by a bullet. One member of the audience and the shooter, who the FBI has identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, were killed.
"Texans believe that, regardless of party, Presidents of the United States of America, both current and former, must be protected," the letter, which was signed by 16 elected Texas Republicans and 11 GOP nominees when published Monday, said. “[Crockett has] forfeited any moral authority to represent the State of Texas.”
Among the North Texas signees are Jeff Leach, Nate Schatzline and Tony Tinderholt — representatives for Plano, Fort Worth and Arlington, respectively — and State Senator Bob Hall, whose district includes parts of Plano, Mesquite and Waxahachie. As of Tuesday afternoon, at least one other Republican candidate for state office, Richard Hayes, had added his name to the letter.
My thoughts are with Mr. Trump as he recovers.
— Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (@RepJasmine) July 14, 2024
My deepest appreciation is extended to law enforcement for their selfless & decisive action
Poltical violence in all forms must be condemned.
Crockett’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Observer. Following Saturday’s assassination attempt, Crockett spoke out against “all forms” of political violence in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
“My thoughts are with Mr. Trump as he recovers,” Crockett said. “My deepest appreciation is extended to law enforcement for their selfless & decisive action.”
In an interview with the right-wing news site the Daily Caller, Harrison called Crockett an “extremist” who is intentionally working to “make it easier to harm former Presidents.”
“I shudder to think about what may have happened had they been successful three months ago in taking away President Trump’s security detail,” Harrison said.
Since joining the House of Representatives, Crockett has not held back from fighting against members of the GOP. Last fall she stirred up social media after her verbal takedown of the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. But that paled in comparison to her May dust-up with the controversial far-right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who suggested that Crockett’s “fake eyelashes” were impairing her reading comprehension.
Crockett responded by calling out Greene's “bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body," a phrase the congresswoman quickly trademarked and parlayed into a merchandise fundraising opportunity.
