Written By: Chris Johnson/CQ-Roll Call
Photo Credit: CQ-Roll/Tribune News Service
WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)— Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned in the wake of the firestorm over her agency’s failure to protect former President Donald Trump from an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Tuesday that she stepped down, the day after she testified in the House about the July 13 shooting and amid bipartisan calls for her to step down.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in a statement, commended Cheatle for her leadership and 29 years of service that included supervision of the agency’s entire protective mission during the Trump administration.
“Reflecting her devotion to country above all else, Director Cheatle returned from retirement to lead the agency and its noble mission that she loves and to which she has devoted her career,” Mayorkas said. “Over the past two years, she has led the Secret Service with skill, honor, integrity, and tireless dedication.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, when told during a news conference about Cheatle’s decision to step down, called the decision “overdue.”
“She should have done this at least a week ago,” Johnson said. “I’m happy to see that she has heeded 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.”
The House is set to vote as early as this week on a resolution that would set up a task force to investigate the assassination attempt. Under the resolution, the panel would be charged with producing a report by mid-December.
Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a joint press release Tuesday that the task force will be made up of seven Republicans and six Democrats. Johnson, in his remarks after hearing of Cheatle’s resignation, said the task force would still examine the failed assassination attempt and hold the Secret Service accountable.
“The stakes are too high,” Johnson concluded. “It’s a very dangerous time and we need to Secret Service to be performing at the top of their game, and we’ll ensure that that happens.”
During a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing Monday, Cheatle faced tough questions from lawmakers on both sides, many of whom insisted on her resignation. Although she acknowledged lapses in security that enabled the shooter to endanger Trump, she rebuffed calls to step down.
Afterwards, Chairman James R. Comer, R-Ky., and ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., demanded Cheatle’s resignation in a letter to her that said she “failed to provide basic answers regarding that stunning operational failure.”
“In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious accountability and transparency you are not providing,” the letter stated.
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