Amid bipartisan flak over Trump's shooting, US Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle resigns
- In Reports
- 09:52 PM, Jul 23, 2024
- Myind Staff
Kimberly Cheatle, the Director of the US Secret Service, resigned following criticism over security failures linked to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania. Cheatle, who had been in charge of the Secret Service since 2022, underwent intense scrutiny during a House Oversight Committee hearing concerning the agency's response to the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Kimberly Cheatle notified her staff via email that she would be resigning from her position as Director of the Secret Service. In the email sent on 23rd July, Cheatle acknowledged full responsibility for the security lapse, stating, "I take full responsibility for the security lapse." She expressed regret over recent events and conveyed that she had made the tough decision to step down from her role as director, adding, "In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director."
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was under pressure to resign following dissatisfaction with her testimony regarding the agency's failure to protect Donald Trump. According to Reuters, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers had called for her resignation.
Kimberly Cheatle resigned one day after appearing before a congressional committee, where she received criticism from both Democrats and Republicans regarding security failures surrounding the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a rally.
Cheatle characterised the incident as the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades and accepted full responsibility for the lapses. The director of the US Secret Service referred to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump as the agency's largest failure since a gunman shot then-President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction when Kimberly Cheatle did not offer specific answers regarding the ongoing investigation into the assassination attempt.
During a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, was grazed by a bullet in the right ear, and tragically, one rally attendee was killed in the gunfire. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, managed to approach within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage where the former president was speaking before he began shooting.
Image Source: Axios
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