Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle shouldered the responsibility for an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, calling it “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.”
Trump came within inches of losing his life after a shooter’s bullet grazed his ear while he spoke at a rally in Pennsylvania.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders,” Cheatle said on Monday. “On July 13, we failed. As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency. We are fully cooperating with ongoing investigations.”
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Cheatle was compelled to appear at the House Oversight Committee hearing by a subpoena, and the Department of Homeland Security had tried to buy her time by pushing back the hearing.
The bid to delay was no surprise given the cold and sometimes hostile reception Cheatle received.
“This tragedy was preventable,” committee chairman James Comer said as Cheatle looked on flatly.
“We are concerned the Secret Service lacks the proper management to keep protectees safe from bad actors,” he added. “It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign.”
Ranking Member Jamie Raskin piled on as well, saying he was eager to understand the “stunning security failures” at play, but added that he had additional concerns about laws related to guns and especially AR-15s.
The appearance of Cheatle, a longtime Secret Service agent who headed security at PepsiCo before taking up her current post in 2022, drew a crowd. Even Speaker Mike Johnson showed up.
As she fielded initial questions from Comer and Raskin, Cheatle did not provide answers about why there wasn’t an agent on the roof where the shooter, Thomas Crooks, positioned himself, nor did she clarify how many times the Secret Service denied requests for additional protection for Trump. She would not reveal details about her conversation with the sniper who killed Crooks.
Cheatle did confirm Crooks was identified as suspicious before the former president took the stage, but added that he was not labeled a threat.
