US Secret Service director Kim Cheatle has resigned from her position as head of the agency following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The resignation came after a contentious House committee hearing where lawmakers became increasingly frustrated with her refusal to answer questions about the shooting at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this month.
In her resignation letter to agency staff, Cheatle took full responsibility for the security lapse and stated that she made the decision with a heavy heart. President Joe Biden expressed gratitude for her decades of public service and announced that he will appoint a new director soon.
Cheatle, who was appointed to head the Secret Service in 2022, had previously served 27 years at the agency in various roles. Her leadership came under question after the shooting at Trump’s rally, where a bullet grazed the former president’s ear and left one audience member dead and two others wounded.
During a tense six-hour House Oversight Committee hearing, Cheatle faced tough questions about security preparations ahead of the campaign rally. Despite taking responsibility for the security lapses, she pushed back on calls to resign, calling the shooting “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades.”
After the hearing, the leading Republican and Democrat from the committee sent a letter to Cheatle urging her to step down. Former President Trump criticized the Biden administration for not properly protecting him and said he was forced to “take a bullet for Democracy.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called Cheatle’s resignation “overdue” and emphasized the need to rebuild the American people’s faith and trust in the Secret Service. Attendee Teresa Wilson expressed relief that Cheatle resigned and called for a thorough independent investigation to provide answers.
