By Evan Perez, Lauren Fox, Tierney Sneed and Whitney Wild | CNN
According to sources, US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned amid security breaches surrounding the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
The move got here as lawmakers and an internal government oversight agency push ahead with investigations into the agency's handling of Trump's protections and the way a gunman nearly killed the 2024 Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania this month.
In Congress, there have been bipartisan calls for her resignation, and Republican lawmakers pushed for her impeachment. The lawmakers were particularly outraged after her performance for public testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, where she was unwilling to reply lots of the committee's questions.
In a Interview with CNN Last week, Cheatle said the agency was “solely responsible” for planning and implementing security measures on the rally site in Pennsylvania, where the now-deceased gunman shot Trump from an unsecured rooftop just a number of hundred yards from the rally stage.
The bullets narrowly missed Trump's head. One participant within the demonstration died and others were injured within the incident.
As more became known in regards to the circumstances of the attempted attack, the Secret Service was questioned about its strategy for shielding Trump that day, including how the Secret Service failed to manage access to the roof of the attack site and the way it handled information provided by local police before the shooting that identified the would-be assassin as someone who was acting suspiciously on the rally site.
The Secret Service and Pennsylvania State Police, who assisted with security efforts through the rally, have differed somewhat of their accounts of what happened and who was liable for the failures.
During her appearance before the House Oversight Committee, Cheatle acknowledged that there have been “significant” and “enormous” security problems on the rally, but rejected calls for her resignation.
“I believe I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time,” Cheatle said.
Cheatle had pledged that her agency would fully cooperate with congressional and internal agency investigations into the Secret Service's actions that day.
Cheatle had left her position as head of worldwide security at PepsiCo to take the position of USSS director and had served within the Secret Service for 27 years before entering the private sector.
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