U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday amid pressure from lawmakers in the aftermath of her agency’s failure to protect former President Donald Trump.
According to CNBC News, the Secret Service director’s resignation comes just one day after she was heavily criticized in a bipartisan House committee hearing over the agency’s security failure at the July 13 shooting at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which led to the former president being shot in the ear.
Fox News reported that in her letter announcing her resignation, Cheatle wrote, “The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure. On July 13th, we fell short on that mission.”
“As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she added.
After explaining that she did not want calls for her resignation to become a “distraction” for the Secret Service, she wrote, “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director.”
Despite taking responsibility for the security failure that led to an attempted assassination against a former U.S. president, Cheatle had initially indicated during Monday’s hearing that she would not resign, according to CNBC News.
Multiple House Republicans, including House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, had publicly called for the Secret Service director to resign. According to Fox News, House Republicans described Cheatle’s leadership of the agency as “the face of incompetence.”
“It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign,” Comer said during Monday’s hearing. “The safety of Secret Service protectees is not based on their political affiliation. And the bottom line is that under Director Cheatle’s leadership, we question whether anyone is safe.”
Following the announcement of the Secret Service director’s resignation on Tuesday, the White House issued a press release thanking Cheatle for “her decades of public service.”
“She has selflessly dedicated and risked her life to protect our nation throughout her career in the United States Secret Service,” President Joe Biden stated. “We especially thank her for answering the call to lead the Secret Service during our Administration and we are grateful for her service to our family.”
In Tuesday’s press release, Biden said it takes “honor, courage, and incredible integrity” for a leader to “take full responsibility” for an organization that has “one of the most challenging jobs in public service.”
The president explained that the independent review of the assassination attempt against Trump will proceed, adding, “We all know what happened that day can never happen again.” Biden also announced that he would appoint a new director to lead the Secret Service “soon.”
Source: Secret Service director resigns after Trump assassination attempt