US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned amidst scrutiny over security lapses related to a recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Cheatle’s resignation comes as lawmakers and an internal government watchdog advance investigations into the agency’s handling of Trump’s protection. A gunman came dangerously close to assassinating the 2024 Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month.
In her resignation letter, Cheatle described the decision as “difficult” and expressed her desire not to distract agents from their mission. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,” she wrote. She acknowledged that on July 13, the day of the shooting, the agency “fell short” of its mission to “protect our nation’s leaders.”
The Department of Homeland Security announced that Secret Service Deputy Director Ronald Rowe will take over leadership of the agency.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden expressed their gratitude for Cheatle’s decades of public service. “As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service,” Biden said.
There have been bipartisan calls in Congress for Cheatle’s resignation, with Republican lawmakers pushing for her impeachment. Lawmakers were particularly frustrated after her appearance before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, where she was unwilling to answer many questions.
During her House Oversight appearance, Cheatle admitted there were “significant” and “colossal” security problems at the rally but resisted calls for her resignation. “I think I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time,” she said on Monday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the resignation was “overdue.” “Now we have to pick up the pieces,” Johnson stated. “We have to rebuild the American people’s faith and trust in the Secret Service. It has an incredibly important responsibility in protecting presidents, former presidents, and other officials in the executive branch, and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Initially, Cheatle was adamant about not stepping down. She was appointed by Biden to lead the Secret Service in 2022.
In an interview with CNN last week, Cheatle said the agency was “solely responsible” for the design and implementation of security at the Pennsylvania rally, where the gunman fired shots at Trump from an unsecured rooftop just a few hundred feet from the stage. A bullet grazed Trump’s ear, and the incident resulted in one rallygoer’s death and others injured.
As more details emerged about the attempted attack, questions arose about how the Secret Service handled Trump’s protection, including the failure to secure the rooftop and manage information from local law enforcement that identified the would-be assassin as acting suspiciously around the rally grounds.
The Secret Service and Pennsylvania law enforcement, which assisted in the rally security efforts, have had conflicting accounts of what happened and who was responsible for the lapses.
Cheatle had pledged full cooperation with congressional and internal government examinations of the Secret Service’s actions that day.
Before becoming the USSS director, Cheatle managed Global Security at PepsiCo and had served in the Secret Service for 27 years.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
(CNN)