By Maria Sacchetti,
Carol D. Leonnig,
Nick Miroff and
Shayna Jacobs
Washington Post
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, telling staff that she took “full responsibility,” according to a copy of a letter sent to agency staff obtained by The Washington Post.
“In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,” wrote Cheatle, who has been under intense pressure to resign from lawmakers of both parties.
“This incident does not define us,” Cheatle told staff. “I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each and every one of you do towards our vital mission.”
The attack was the first against a U.S. leader on the elite protective agency’s watch in more than 40 years. Cheatle, a veteran Secret Service agent, had called the security failure involving a gunman shooting from an apparently unsecured roof at a Trump presidential campaign rally July 13 unacceptable and acknowledged that “the buck stops with me.”
She initially had said she would not resign and would cooperate with investigations into the shooting.
But during a House oversight hearing Monday, Cheatle faced withering scorn from Republicans and Democrats alike. Lawmakers took turns criticizing her for declining to answer detailed questions about what went wrong at the Trump rally.
Johnson calls Secret Service director resignation 'overdue'
1:42
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on July 23 said Congress would need to rebuild "trust" in the Secret Service after Kimberly Cheatle resigned as director. (Video: The Washington Post)
After Cheatle’s resignation, Oversight committee chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) took credit for pushing her out and pledged “there will be more accountability to come.”
“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,” Comer said in a statement. “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.”
Updated July 23, 2024 at 12:04 p.m. EDT|Published July 23, 2024 at 10:41 a.m. EDT
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, telling staff that she took “full responsibility,” according to a copy of a letter sent to agency staff obtained by The Washington Post.
“In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,” wrote Cheatle, who has been under intense pressure to resign from lawmakers of both parties.
“This incident does not define us,” Cheatle told staff. “I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each and every one of you do towards our vital mission.”
The attack was the first against a U.S. leader on the elite protective agency’s watch in more than 40 years. Cheatle, a veteran Secret Service agent, had called the security failure involving a gunman shooting from an apparently unsecured roof at a Trump presidential campaign rally July 13 unacceptable and acknowledged that “the buck stops with me.”
She initially had said she would not resign and would cooperate with investigations into the shooting.
But during a House oversight hearing Monday, Cheatle faced withering scorn from Republicans and Democrats alike. Lawmakers took turns criticizing her for declining to answer detailed questions about what went wrong at the Trump rally.
Johnson calls Secret Service director resignation 'overdue'
1:42
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on July 23 said Congress would need to rebuild "trust" in the Secret Service after Kimberly Cheatle resigned as director. (Video: The Washington Post)
After Cheatle’s resignation, Oversight committee chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) took credit for pushing her out and pledged “there will be more accountability to come.”
“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,” Comer said in a statement. “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.”
