Search Articles
WASHINGTON (CN) — Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday, just hours after she faced tough questions from House lawmakers about her agency’s failure to prevent the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged Cheatle’s departure in a statement.
“I am grateful to Kimberly Cheatle for her leadership as the Director of the United States Secret Service and for her lifelong devotion to our country,” he wrote.
In a separate statement, President Joe Biden thanked Cheatle for her service, adding that he plans to appoint a new director “soon.”
“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 wrote.
Ronald Rowe will take the reins of the Secret Service in the meantime, the Homeland Security Department said.
Cheatle came under intense scrutiny in recent weeks following the attempt on Trump’s life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, grazed the former president with a bullet fired from an AR-15. The shooter, who was immediately killed by counter-snipers, was positioned outside the Secret Service’s security perimeter on the roof of a nearby building.
During a House Oversight Committee hearing Monday at which Cheatle was invited to testify, lawmakers demanded to know why the Secret Service had not properly secured the area around the Butler rally. They pointed to reports that rallygoers had spotted Crooks minutes before he began firing and alerted law enforcement.
Cheatle took responsibility for security failures at the rally, calling the assassination attempt the most significant Secret Service operational failure “in decades.” But she deflected specific questions about the shooting and demurred from sharing the details of the agency’s investigation into the incident.
Her lackluster responses elicited harsh reactions from both Democrats and Republicans on the committee, several of whom called on her to submit her letter of resignation that same day. Even Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, the seniormost Democrat on the Oversight Committee, joined in urging Cheatle to step down — reasoning that she had lost the faith of Congress.
Initial reports of Cheatle’s resignation broke Tuesday morning as House Speaker Mike Johnson wrapped up his weekly news conference. Johnson, who was a leading voice in urging the director to step down, told reporters the move was overdue.
“She should have done this at least a week ago,” said the speaker. “I’m happy to see she’s heeded the call of both Republicans and Democrats.”
Kentucky Representative James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, directly tied her appearance before the panel to her decision to resign.
“At yesterday’s Oversight Committee hearing, Director Cheatle instilled no confidence that she has the ability to ensure the Secret Service can meet its protective mission,” Comer wrote. “While Director Cheatle’s resignation is a step toward accountability, we need a full accounting of how these security failures happened so that we can prevent them going forward.”
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has accused Cheatle of being complicit in the assassination attempt against former President Trump, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the Secret Service director had participated in a “cover up” of the incident during her testimony Monday.
The former president reacted to Cheatle’s resignation in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.
“The Biden/Harris administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for democracy,” he said.
House leadership on Tuesday announced that lawmakers would form an independent, bipartisan task force to investigate the attempt on Trump’s life. The Secret Service is conducting a separate review, Cheatle said, which could be ready in 60 days or so.
Law enforcement officials have yet to determine a clear motive for the assassination attempt.
Trump formally accepted the Republican nomination for president last week at the Republican National Convention, just days after the shooting.
Follow @BenjaminSWeissSubscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.