Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday after failing to prevent a gunman from attacking former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally. Cheatle initially hoped to stay in her role but faced bipartisan pressure to step down.
The resignation followed a congressional hearing where Cheatle provided little new information about the July 13 shooting in Pennsylvania, which has been called the agency’s biggest security failure since the 1981 attack on President Ronald Reagan.
During the hearing, Cheatle admitted to a significant security lapse, but her investigation promises did not satisfy lawmakers. Democratic and Republican representatives urged her resignation, expressing a lack of confidence in her leadership.
In an internal email to staff, Cheatle announced her resignation, stating she did not want the calls for her to step down to become a distraction. She acknowledged the agency’s intense scrutiny but asserted that the incident did not define the Secret Service.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D., Md.) criticized Cheatle’s performance at the hearing, stating she failed to answer the public. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) emphasized that more accountability would follow.
President Biden thanked Cheatle for her service and announced plans to appoint a new director. He praised her integrity and willingness to take responsibility for the agency’s failures.
The Secret Service referred all inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security, which has not commented on the matter.
Investigations are ongoing into how Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to fire six rounds from a building rooftop, resulting in one death, two critical injuries, and a minor wound to Trump. The Secret Service sniper team killed Crooks, but his motives remain unclear.
House leaders have formed a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempted assassination, with the power to issue subpoenas. Cheatle’s testimony revealed that Crooks had been flagged as suspicious over an hour before the shooting, but details about the agency’s response remain sparse.
Cheatle’s resignation concludes her 30-year career with the Secret Service, which included roles protecting high-profile figures such as Vice President Dick Cheney and Vice President Joe Biden. She briefly left the agency in 2021 but returned as director in 2022 under President Biden’s appointment.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has initiated an independent review of the incident while the FBI and Homeland Security’s internal watchdog continue their investigations.
