Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned following intense criticism and scrutiny over security failures related to the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, sources informed CNN.
The resignation comes as both lawmakers and an internal government watchdog have initiated investigations into the agency’s handling of Trump’s security and how a gunman nearly succeeded in assassinating the Republican presidential candidate at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania about ten days ago.
Director Kimberly Cheatle has stated that she takes “full responsibility” for the failure to adequately protect President Donald Trump.
“If she truly accepts responsibility for these significant security failures, her resignation is warranted,” commented Speaker Mike Johnson. [Link to tweet]
Yesterday, Cheatle acknowledged that the Secret Service “failed” in its mission to protect Trump on July 13 in Pennsylvania.
“We failed,” Cheatle told a House committee. The agency, responsible for safeguarding high-profile individuals in the U.S., has faced criticism for potential lapses and human errors.
However, Cheatle argued that the Secret Service provided the security requested by Trump’s campaign team for the event. “What I can tell you is that for the gathering on July 13th, the details that had been requested, the tools that had been requested for that day, were provided,” she emphasized.
At the same time, she refused to discuss any possibility of resignation, stating, “I believe that I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time.”
In his first comment on the situation with Cheatle, House Speaker Mike Johnson described the resignation as “belated.” “Now we need to pick up the pieces. We need to restore the faith and trust of the American people in the Secret Service. It has an incredibly important responsibility for protecting presidents, former presidents, and other executive branch officials, and we have a lot of work to do,” he added.
The Secret Service and Pennsylvania law enforcement, which assisted with the security efforts at the Pennsylvania rally, had disagreed in their reports about what happened on the afternoon of July 13 and who was responsible for the lapses.
It is noted that Cheatle had left her position as Global Security Director at PepsiCo to take up the role of Director at the U.S. Secret Service. Before her time in the private sector, she had served in the Secret Service for 27 years.
