First hearing to begin for panel investigating Donald Trump assassination attempts

US lawmakers rush to ensure candidate safety just weeks before the presidential election

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Mint Hill, North Carolina (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

A bipartisan task force investigating the assassination attempts against Donald Trump is set to hold its first hearing Thursday as lawmakers rush to ensure candidate safety just weeks before the US presidential election.

The panel — comprised of seven Republicans and six Democrats — has spent the last two months trying to decipher the security failures that allowed a gunman to scale a roof and open fire at the former president during a July 13 campaign rally in Pennsylvania, killing a spectator.