Following Monday’s contentious congressional hearing where Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle admitted that the failed assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump was “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades,” Cheatle turned in her resignation this morning.
“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in an email to staff. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
Cheatle also said in the letter to Secret Service employees that the agency had failed in its mission on the day when the would-be assassin managed to shoot Trump in the ear.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,” Cheatle said in a letter to her staff. “On July 13th, we fell short on that mission. 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.”
During Monday’s hearing into the assassination attempt, Cheatle admitted that before Trump took the stage at the rally the Secret Service had been notified “between two and five times” that there was a suspicious person in the area. Still, no measures were taken until after the would-be assassin climbed atop the building and managed to hit Trump in the ear, as well as wound two other people and kill another. Secret Service snipers then immediately killed the gunman.
The would-be assassin had even been spotted with a rangefinder prior to climbing the roof of a nearby manufacturing building and Trump taking the stage.
ABCNews reported the following timeline of events:
- 5:10 p.m. Crooks was first identified as a person of interest
- 5:30 p.m. Crooks was spotted with a rangefinder
- 5:52 p.m. Crooks was spotted on the roof by Secret Service
- 6:02 p.m. Trump takes the stage
- 6:12 p.m. Crooks fires first shots
That Trump was still allowed to take the stage in light of these revelations was astonishing and has served to fuel conspiracy theories that it appears the Secret Service almost wanted to let events play out. There is no evidence to support that notion, but certainly Cheatle’s testimony did little to assuage such theories. At a minimum, the congressional committee continues to have serious concerns about the operational breakdown that occurred July 13.
While two days after the shooting Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he supported Cheatle “100%,” calls for her to resign were increasing on both sides of the political aisle. On Monday, Republican Rep. James Comer and Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin, leaders of the oversight committee looking into the assassination attempt, sent Cheatle a letter asking for her resignation.
“Today, 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,” the letter stated. “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.”
During the hearing, Rep. Raskin, of Maryland, had joined Republicans in calling for the director to resign.
“This relationship is irretrievable at this point and I think that the director has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country, and we need to quickly move beyond this,” Raskin said.
Cheatle was sworn into office in September 2022 after President Joe Biden appointed her director of the agency.
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