Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle Steps Down
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle Steps Down
US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned amidst scrutiny over security lapses related to the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, sources tell CNN.
The resignation comes as lawmakers and an internal government watchdog continue investigations into the agency's handling of Trump’s protection. A gunman came close to killing the 2024 Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania this month.
In her resignation letter, Cheatle stated that she made the "difficult" decision to leave the agency "with a heavy heart" and emphasized that she doesn’t want her departure 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," Cheatle wrote. She admitted 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 has been appointed to lead 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, and Republican lawmakers have pushed for her impeachment. Lawmakers were particularly upset after her appearance before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, where she refused to answer many questions.
During the House Oversight hearing, Cheatle acknowledged "significant" and "colossal" problems with the rally’s security 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 stated that the resignation is "overdue." "Now we have to pick up the pieces," Johnson said. "We need 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 that she would not step down. Biden appointed her 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 now-deceased 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 left one rallygoer dead and others injured.
As more details emerged about the attempted attack, questions arose about the Secret Service's actions that day, including their failure to control access to the rooftop and how they handled information from local law enforcement identifying the would-be assassin as suspicious.
The Secret Service and Pennsylvania law enforcement, which assisted in the rally’s security, have sometimes contradicted each other in their accounts of what happened and who was responsible for the lapses.
Cheatle had promised full cooperation with the congressional and internal government investigations into the Secret Service’s actions that day.
Before becoming the USSS director, Cheatle managed Global Security at PepsiCo. She had previously served in the Secret Service for 27 years.
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