U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in response to intense criticism over her agency’s handling of security at a Pennsylvania campaign rally for former President Donald Trump earlier this month. The resignation, first reported by NBC News, followed a day of sharp questioning from a House committee about the Secret Service’s actions before the July 13 rally in Butler Township.
At the hearing, Cheatle defended her position, insisting she was the most qualified person to lead the agency responsible for protecting the president, vice president, their families, and major presidential candidates. Despite her defense, Cheatle faced significant backlash over the agency’s performance.
“I take full responsibility,” Cheatle says
“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in the email to staff Tuesday. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
Here is what you need to know
During the rally, Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by 20-year-old gunman Thomas Crooks. Crooks fired shots from a building about 150 yards away from the stage, killing one rally attendee and critically injuring two others. Crooks was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper after firing multiple rounds at Trump.
The Secret Service’s failure to extend its security perimeter to include the building from which Crooks shot was a key point of contention. Instead, the agency left the security of the area up to local law enforcement. Furthermore, Secret Service agents allowed Trump to take the stage despite receiving a report from local police about a suspicious individual at the event, who turned out to be Crooks.
The situation worsened over the weekend when the Secret Service admitted it had incorrectly claimed that it had not rejected requests from Trump’s campaign for enhanced security measures.
Cheatle’s resignation marks a significant development in the ongoing scrutiny of the Secret Service’s protocols and actions related to the incident.
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