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Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle
Secret Service chief declines to answer questions about Trump shooting
Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle fought to save her job Monday as she testified before the House oversight committee about the security lapses that led to the assassination attempt against Donald Trump and the death of a spectator at a rally in Butler, PA, on July 13.
Cheatle, facing mounting pressure to resign, declined to answer questions about how many agents were assigned to protect the former president and how the almost-assassin managed to bring a firearm near the event or access the warehouse roof from which he fired. She also did not explain why Trump was allowed onstage despite warnings about a suspicious person. Cheatle said she was not being evasive but was trying to provide accurate information.
Rep. Tim Burchettaccused Cheatle of being “a D.E.I. horror story,” referring to the left’s “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs that have helped add gender diversity to the Secret Service. However, no evidence has surfaced to show that female agents acted improperly.
Democratic leaders, meanwhile, expressed frustration over Cheatle’s unanswered questions, but some also questioned why American gun violence wasn’t the main focus of the investigation.
Calls for Cheatle’s resignation have come from both sides of the aisle, and her limited responses are likely to fuel suspicions of a possible cover-up. Meanwhile, Homeland Security is also conducting an independent review of the security breakdown at the request of President Joe Biden.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle speaks at a press conference by the U.S. Secret Service about the Republican National Convention on Thursday June 6, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wis.
Will new Secret Service admission cost Cheatle her job?
The US Secret Service has now admitted to denying some security requests from Republican nominee Donald Trump’s campaign over the past few years. Before the assassination attempt against the former president last week, Secret Service agents in Trump’s detail had also requested more snipers and specialty teams at other outdoor events, which top officials at the agency denied due to a lack of resources and staffing shortages.
The change of narrative turns up the heat on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who is set to testify before a House committee hearing on Monday about the assassination attempt. Questions include why the would-be assassin was not apprehended prior to the attack despite being flagged by a Secret Service counter-sniper 20 minutes before.
While Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas maintains thathis confidence in Cheatle is “100%”, a slew of Republicans, as well as a Democrat,Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, have called for her resignation. President Joe Biden, while supporting Cheatle, has ordered an independent investigation.
At a House briefing last week, Cheatle admitted the Secret Service fell short at a “no fail” mission but so farhas no plans to resign. We’ll see if that changes this week – and what other information comes to light at the hearing.