Secret Service Director Cheatle resigns after Trump assassination attempt

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday following a disastrous appearance before Congress to review the assassination attempt against former President Trump.

Cheatle has faced calls to resign since the July 13 rally in Butler, Pa., during which a gunman managed to fire shots at Trump, grazing his ear.

But those calls grew louder during Monday testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee in which Cheatle infuriated lawmakers on both sides by sidestepping multiple questions and failing to provide sought-after details about how the agency was reckoning with its failure to secure Trump’s safety.

“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in the email to staff Tuesday that was obtained by The Associated Press. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”

Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor Secret Service immediately responded to a request for comment.

President Biden praised Cheatle, who has been with the Secret Service for nearly 30 years, calling her “selflessly dedicated” and noting she “risked her life to protect our nation throughout her career in the United States Secret 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." 

As recently as Monday’s hearing, Cheatle said she would not resign.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) learned the news at the end of his weekly press conference and called it "overdue."

"She should have resigned at least a week ago. I'm happy to see that. I'm happy to see that she has headed the call of both Republicans and Democrats. Now we have to pick up the pieces. We have to rebuild the American people's faith and trust in the Secret Service as an agency. … We've got a lot of work to do. The task force that we'll be putting together is going to be very important," he added.

The Secret Service has what it calls a “no fail” mission, one that does not allow for error in securing the safety of its protectees.

In addition to Trump, one rally attendee was killed and two others were wounded during the shooting. Secret Service countersnipers also killed the shooter.

Cheatle acknowledged the shooting was a failure for the agency.

“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed. As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse,” she said in opening remarks during her appearance before Congress.

“We must learn what happened, and I will move heaven and earth to ensure an incident like July 13 does not happen again. Thinking about what we should have done differently is never far from my thoughts.”

But that admission was one of the few details lawmakers got during the more than four-hour hearing in which Cheatle refused to answer many questions about the shooting, often citing the ongoing investigation. 

That, and her failure to respond even to details that had been publicly reported about the attack, left lawmakers frustrated.

“She did the right thing. Yesterday's performance was awful. It was all secret and no service. And she answered none of the questions that the American people have,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, told reporters following the news.

The director faced growing calls to resign during the hearing from Democrats and Republicans alike, even prompting a rare joint letter from leaders of both parties of the Oversight Committee asking her to resign.

“Today, you failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure and to reassure the American people that the Secret Service has learned its lessons and begun to correct its systemic blunders and failures. In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing,” Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Raskin, the ranking member, wrote.

When the news broke during a Tuesday Oversight hearing, Raskin congratulated Comer on a great hearing.

“You should sign more letters with me; there's no telling what we could do," Comer responded. 

A later statement from Comer issued further warning for the agency.

“The Oversight Committee’s hearing resulted in Director Cheatle’s resignation and there will be more accountability to come,” he wrote.

“While Director Cheatle’s resignation is a step toward accountability, we need a full review of how these security failures happened so that we can prevent them going forward. We will continue our oversight of the Secret Service in support of the House Task Force to deliver transparency, accountability, and solutions to ensure this never happens again.”

Emily Brooks and Nathaniel Weixel contributed.

Updated at 11:12 a.m. ET