The US Secret Service Director has resigned. Kimberly Cheatle stepped down following criticisms of the agency after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and her testimony to the Attempted Assassination Oversight Committee.
“The Oversight Committee’s hearing resulted in Director Cheatle’s resignation, and there will be more accountability to come,” said Committee Chairman James Comer. “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. While Director Cheatle’s resignation is a step toward accountability, we need a full review of how these security failures happened so that we can prevent them going forward. We will continue our oversight of the Secret Service in support of the House Task Force to deliver transparency, accountability, and solutions to ensure this never happens again.”
The Secret Service currently protects 36 people on a daily basis, as well as world leaders who visit the US. Appearing before the Washington DC Committee on July 22, Cheatle faced heavy criticism after she declined to answer questions from committee members about the security plan for the rally and how law enforcement responded to the gunman’s suspicious behaviour.
“I do not want to inadvertently provide you today with inaccurate information,” Cheatle told the Committee. “I may not be able to speak specifically to certain items that have circulated over the past nine days.”
As a leader, it takes honour, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organisation tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service,” said US President Jo Biden after the resignation was announced. “The independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13 continues, and I look forward to assessing its conclusions. As we move forward, I wish Kim all the best, and I will plan to appoint a new Director soon.”
Secret Service Deputy Director Ronald Rowe will serve as acting director until Cheatle’s permanent replacement is found.
