US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday, a day after admitting the agency’s failure to prevent an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Cheatle’s resignation comes amid bipartisan calls for her to step down after a gunman wounded Trump at a campaign rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, stated, “It is overdue, she should have done this at least a week ago. I’m happy to see that she has heeded the call of both Republicans and Democrats.”
The resignation followed Cheatle’s testimony before a congressional committee, where she described the attack as “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.” She faced criticism for not providing specific details about the incident, citing ongoing investigations.
The gunman, armed with an AR-style assault rifle, fired at Trump just minutes after he began speaking. He was killed by a Secret Service sniper within 30 seconds of the first shot. Investigations revealed that the attacker acted alone and had no strong ideological or political motivations.
The attack resulted in Trump sustaining a two-centimeter gunshot wound on his right ear. Two rally attendees were seriously wounded, and a Pennsylvania firefighter, Corey Comperatore, was killed.
Cheatle had a 27-year career with the Secret Service before joining PepsiCo as head of security in North America in 2021. She was appointed to lead the Secret Service by President Joe Biden in 2022.
