Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday as director of the Secret Service in the wake of an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump and increasing calls for her exit.
Her announcement came a day after a heated Congressional hearing in which members on both sides of the aisle grilled her on how a gunman, suspected to be 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to climb onto a roof with an AR-style rifle about 150 yards from the stage at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally on July 13. The questions, particularly by women lawmakers, also pointed to a heightened awareness of political violence over the past decade.
In the nine days between the shooting and the hearing, little information was released by the Secret Service about what had happened. Conspiracy theories spread quickly online about the shooter’s motive, and news outlets reported conflicting accounts from officials about the security measures that were in place. Cheatle, the second woman to lead the agency, was subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday but was unable to answer the majority of questions asked, to the clear frustration of members.
“I’m not going to get into specifics of the day,” Cheatle said, repeatedly deferring questions to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is conducting its own criminal investigation. “There was a plan in place to provide overwatch, and we are still looking into responsibilities.”
Each member of the oversight committee was given five minutes to ask questions, resulting in a hearing that was nearly five hours long.
Many women legislators who typically disagree found a common issue to rally around: the safety of the country’s leaders. Republicans and Democrats alike highlighted the recent increase in political violence and stressed the importance of their own safety in volatile times. Members angrily told Cheatle that her lack of answers and “lame excuses” showed “incompetence,” despite her 29 years with the agency.
Cheatle repeatedly said she could not or would not answer questions about the specifics of July 13 until a full report was finalized, which she said could take up to 60 days. In response, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a Democrat, said Congress could not wait that long to make policy decisions.
“We are currently in the midst of an especially concentrated presidential campaign at the moment — that is also paired with elections happening across the country in about 100 days,” Ocasio-Cortez said in her opening statement. “So the notion of a report coming out in 60 days when the threat environment is so high in the United States, irrespective of party, is not acceptable. It’s very important to understand that this is not theater, this is not about jockeying. This is about the safety of some of the most highly-targeted and valued targets, internationally and domestically, in the United States of America.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Republican, asked questions about why the gunman was able to move freely around the area with items that are banned from Trump rallies due to safety concerns.
“Let’s talk about things that are prohibited in Trump rallies — and I’ve been to a lot of Trump rallies,” Greene said. “Backpacks, bags, bicycles, firearms, any type of weapon or any other item determined to be a potential safety hazard, like a rangefinder.”
Crooks was seen with bags, a rangefinder and a weapon.
“Two minutes before the shooting, while President Trump has been allowed to take the stage, people see Crooks laying on his stomach in a sniper position on the roof and they’re yelling, ‘He has a gun,’” Greene said. “And they’re trying to alert law enforcement and Secret Service. Why was Crooks not shot by a sniper? Why was he allowed to be there?”
Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts criticized Cheatle for not providing answers and claimed Republicans were using her silence as a means to “attack progress towards racial justice,” by claiming that diversity efforts to include women in the Secret Service caused the problem. Pressley pushed back, instead pointing to the need for gun reform laws.
“No one, absolutely no one, should fear for their life at a political rally, in a classroom, in a faith house or in their home,” Pressley said. “We must do something about political violence in all its forms and gun violence in all of its forms.”
Despite the hours-long barrage of criticism and repeated calls for her resignation, during the hearing Cheatle maintained that she was still the best person to lead the Secret Service.
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado told Cheatle she needed to be fired if she continued to refuse resignation.
“You do not need to hold this position,” Boebert said. “You are not the best for this job. I am over my time, but I cannot tolerate your watch any longer. And I’m going to continue to call daily for you to be removed from your position, ma’am.”
After the hearing concluded, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina moved to force a full House vote to impeach Cheatle. In addition, Chairman James Comer, a Republican, and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, issued a joint letter formally calling for Cheatle’s 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 said. “In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing.”
Cheatle reportedly announced her resignation the next morning in an email to staff.
Cheatle was appointed to head the Secret Service by President Joe Biden in August 2022. At the time, she was the senior director of global security at PepsiCo, but had previously served with the Secret Service for more than 25 years — including on Biden’s security detail while he was vice president.
Following her resignation, Biden thanked Cheatle in a social post for her service: “Jill and I are grateful to Director Cheatle for her decades of public service. We especially thank her for answering the call to lead the Secret Service during my Administration and are grateful for her service to our family.”
Meanwhile, Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a Republican, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, a Democrat, introduced legislation that would require Senate confirmation for the directors of the Secret Service. The bill would also create a 10-year term limit, an attempt to avoid politicization of the post by stretching the director’s term beyond a president’s maximum tenure in the White House. The Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation already require Senate confirmation when deciding leadership positions.
Karen Hawkins and Flora Peir contributed reporting.
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