Secret Service boss Kimberly Cheatle resigns after Trump assassination fiasco
23 July 2024, 15:36 | Updated: 23 July 2024, 16:27
The Director of the United States Secret Service has resigned less than two weeks after a failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
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Kimberly Cheatle faced a grilling in Congress yesterday, where she admitted the roof where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump had been identified as a risk.
Ms Cheatle has come under increasing pressure from politicians on both sides of American politics to resign after the failed attempt on Trump's life.
"We failed. As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse," Kimberly Cheatle said in testimony before the House of Representatives Oversight Committee yesterday.
"The assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13th is the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades," Ms Cheatle added.
Read more: Secret Service response at Trump rally a paradox of priority
Confirming her resignation, Chairman Comer of the Oversight Committee said: “The Oversight Committee’s hearing resulted in Director Cheatle’s resignation and there will be more accountability to come.
“The Secret Service has a no-fail mission yet it failed historically on Director Cheatle’s watch.
“At yesterday’s Oversight Committee hearing, Director Cheatle instilled no confidence that she has the ability to ensure the Secret Service can meet its protective mission.
“Egregious security failures leading up to and at the Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally resulted in the assassination attempt of President Trump, the murder of an innocent victim, and harm to others in the crowd.
“While Director Cheatle’s resignation is a step toward accountability, we need a full review of how these security failures happened so that we can prevent them going forward.
“We will continue our oversight of the Secret Service in support of the House Task Force to deliver transparency, accountability, and solutions to ensure this never happens again.”
Ms Cheatle is believed to have accepted “full responsibility” for the lapse in an email to staff.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure. On July 13th, we fell short on that mission,” Cheatle wrote.
“The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases. As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse.”
President Joe Biden has praised Ms Cheatle’s “incredible integrity” following her resignation.
The president said it takes honour and courage to "take full responsibility for an organisation tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service".
"She has selflessly dedicated and risked her life to protect our nation throughout her career," he continued.
"We especially thank her for answering the call to lead the Secret Service during our administration and we are grateful for her service to our family.
"We all know what happened that day can never happen again."
Trump took to Truth Social to respond to her resignation.
He wrote: "The Biden/Harris administration did not properly protect me.
"I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!" he posted.
The President's office does not play a part in Trump's security.
This comes after Ms Cheatle admitted snipers weren't placed on the "sloping roof" used by Crooks to shoot at Donald Trump over "safety concerns.”
She said: "That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point."And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof."
Cheatle added the Agency knew the roof was a vulnerable point but chose not to place personnel on it anyway.
Speaking to ABC News, she said: "The decision was made to secure the building, from inside."
