WASHINGTON – The director of the Secret Service resigned on Tuesday following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, which sparked protests over how the agency failed in its main mission of protect current and former presidents.
Kimberly Cheatle, who has served as director of the Secret Service since August 2021, has faced growing calls for her resignation and multiple investigations into How did a sniper manage to get so close? to the Republican presidential candidate at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“I take full responsibility for the security breach,” she said in an email to staff obtained by The Associated Press. “In light of recent events, it is with regret that I have made the difficult decision to step down as its director.”
Cheatle’s departure is unlikely to end scrutiny of the long-troubled agency following the July 13 failures, and comes at a critical time ahead of the Democratic National Convention and a busy presidential campaign season. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have promised further investigations. An investigation by the inspector general and an independent, bipartisan effort launched at the request of President Joe Biden will keep the agency in the spotlight.
Cheatle’s resignation came a day after she appeared before a congressional committee and was berated for hours by Democrats and Republicans over the security failures. She called the attempt on Trump’s life the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades, but angered lawmakers by not answering specific questions about the investigation.
Biden said in a statement that “what happened that day can never happen again” and plans to name a new director soon, but did not discuss a timeline.
President and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas thanked Cheatle for his service. Mayorkas named Deputy Director Ronald Rowe as interim director. He has worked at the agency for 23 years.
“At this time, we must remain focused,” Rowe said in a note to staff obtained by the AP. “We will restore the faith and trust of the American public and the people we are meant to protect.”
At Monday’s hearing, Cheatle remained defiant that he was the “right person” to lead the Secret Service, although he said he took responsibility for the failures. When Republican Rep. Nancy Mace suggested that Cheatle begin drafting his resignation letter in the hearing room, Cheatle responded, “No, thank you.”
The 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, managed to get within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage where the former president was speaking when he opened fire. This despite a threat to Trump’s life from Iran that prompted additional security for the former president in the days before the rally.
Cheatle acknowledged Monday that the Secret Service was tipped off about a suspicious person two to five times before the shooting. She also revealed that the roof from which Crooks fired had been identified as a potential vulnerability days earlier. But she was unable to answer many questions about what happened, including why there were no officers on the roof.
A bloodied Trump was quickly escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents and agency snipers. killed the shooter. Trump said part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. One rally participant was killed and two others were seriously injured.
Details continue to emerge about signs of trouble that day and the functions of the Secret Service and local authorities. The agency routinely relies on local authorities to secure the perimeter of events. Former Secret Service agents said the shooter should never have had access to the roof.
After Cheatle’s firing, Trump posted on his social media: “The Biden/Harris Administration did not adequately protect me and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO THIS!”
The House Homeland Security Committee asked Cheatle to testify Tuesday at another hearing into the attempted assassination, but lawmakers said she refused. Cheatle’s name was on a card on a table in front of an empty chair during the hearing, which began shortly before his decision to resign became public.
The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes immigration, transportation security, and the Coast Guard. The department was formed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
A few years ago, there was a move to move the agency back into the Treasury Department, where it was headquartered before 9/11, especially as Homeland Security’s intense focus on immigration has heightened the growing divide between what the Secret Service sees as its dual missions – protecting the president and investigating financial crimes – and the mission of its controlling department. But this movement has stagnated.
About half of the Secret Service’s $3 billion budget is spent on protective services. It also has a robust cybercrime division, state-of-the-art forensic laboratories It is a threat assessment center which studies how to mitigate and train against threats.
With a workforce of 7,800 special agents, uniformed officers and other personnel, the Secret Service has investigated an increasing number of threats against the president and other officials under his protection. It also managed a growing number of high-profile government figures who asked for support. Staff did not keep up with the increase in workload. By September 11th, there were about 15 full-time protégés. That number has now more than doubled.
Trump is the first modern former president to run for another term, and because of his high visibility, his protective detail has always been larger than some others. That protective bubble has grown tighter in recent months as he has gotten closer to the nomination. All major party nominees receive enhanced detail with counter-attack teams and counter-snipers similar to the president.
There have been calls for accountability across the political spectrum, with Congressional committees moving immediately to investigate and issuing subpoenas. Top Republican leaders in the House and Senate said Cheatle should resign.
Biden, a Democrat, ordered an independent review of security at the rally, and the Secret Service inspector general opened an investigation. The agency is also reviewing the “preparedness and operations” of its counter-sniper team.
On Tuesday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Cheatle’s resignation was “overdue.”
“Now we have to pick up the pieces. We must rebuild the American people’s faith and trust in the Secret Service as an agency,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, Senators Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa, and Catherine Cortez Masto, Democrat of Nevada, introduced legislation on Tuesday to require Senate confirmation of future Secret Service directors.
Cheatle served in the Secret Service for 27 years. She left in 2021 to work as a security executive at PepsiCo before Biden asked her to return in 2022 to head the agency.
She took office amid controversy over missed text messages around the time, thousands of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, following his 2020 election loss to Biden.
During her time at the agency, Cheatle was the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations, the division that protects the president and other dignitaries, where she oversaw a $133.5 million budget. She was the second woman to lead the agency.
When Biden announced Cheatle’s nominationhe said she served in his class when he was vice president and that he and his wife “have come to trust her judgment and advice.”
___
Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Rebecca Santana, Zeke Miller and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and Michelle Price in New York contributed to this report.
