Secret Service Director Resigns Following Trump Assassination Attempt

Nikki McCann Ramirez

23 July 2024 at 10:38 am·3-min read

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned from her post following an assassination attempt against Donald Trump, one that she described as “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.”

On Monday, Cheatle sat for a combative round of testimony before the House Oversight Committee. The Secret Service director didn’t provide many answers to lingering questions about security failures that allowed a gunman to access to a rooftop with a clear firing line to Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this month.

Lawmakers, clearly frustrated over the director’s vague responses and frequent refusals to provide details, tore into Cheatle.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told Cheatle that she was “full of shit.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) added that Cheatle’s assertion that the preliminary report on the shooting would be available within 60 days “unacceptable.”

“It has been 10 days since an assassination attempt on former president of the United States […] there need to be answers,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “The lack of answers and the lack of a report is simply not something that we can accept here.”

In a rare display of agreement between Democrats and Republicans on the typically chaotic House Oversight Committee, lawmakers from both parties agreed that Cheatle should resign.

“This committee is not known for its bipartisanship, but I think today we came together unanimously in our disappointment for your lack of answers.” Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) told Cheatle. “I had sincerely hoped that we would have adjourned this committee and we would have had confidence not just in the Secret Service but in you as director of the Secret Service, but we do not.”

Shortly after the hearing Comer and Ranking Member Jaime Raskin (D-Md.) issued a joint statement calling for Cheatle’s resignation. “You failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure and to reassure the American people that the Secret Service has learned its lessons and begun to correct its systemic blunders and failures,” they wrote. “In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing. We call on you to resign as Director as a first step to allowing new leadership to swiftly address this crisis and rebuild the trust of a truly concerned Congress and the American people.”

President Joe Biden responded to Cheatle’s resignation on Tuesday. “As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service,” he wrote after thanking her for “risking her life to protect our nation throughout her career.” Biden added that he will appoint a new director “soon.”

Cheatle’s resignation is a step in the right direction for many lawmakers, but there’s still a plethora of unanswered questions about the shooting. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced on Tuesday that they plan to convene a bipartisan House task force to fully investigate the events that took place in Butler.

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