U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday after she was widely criticized over security failures at the campaign event where former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt.
The news comes the day after a hearing before the House Oversight Committee where lawmakers from both sides of the aisle called on Cheatle to resign and blasted her for the Secret Service’s failings around the shooting of Trump.
During the hearing, Cheatle refused to directly answer hardly any questions, further frustrating both Democrat and Republican lawmakers.
House Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., welcomed Cheatle’s resignation in a statement Tuesday, but said there would be more accountability in store for the Secret Service.
“The Oversight Committee’s hearing resulted in Director Cheatle’s resignation and there will be more accountability to come,” Comer said in a statement. “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.”
The Secret Service, and FBI are conducting investigations into what happened at the Butler County, Pennsylvania rally where Trump was shot.
The Secret Service has faced serious questions about how the shooter was allowed to get on an unoccupied rooftop, how rally attendees could spot the shooter with a gun before federal security, and why Trump was allowed to go on stage even though security had deemed the shooter as “suspicious” before Trump even took the stage.
President Joe Biden released a statement Tuesday thanking Cheatle for her service.
