Kimberly Cheatle

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On July 13, 2024, during the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Cheatle was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the 2024 Republican National Convention was due to commence in two days. In the wake of the shooting and criticism of her leadership, Cheatle acknowledged the failure of the Secret Service, calling it "unacceptable." However, Cheatle told ABC News that she would not resign from her position [23] and defended herself by saying that local law enforcement had been responsible for securing the building from which the shooter launched his attack. [24] [25]

On July 20, 2024, Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-PA) called on Cheatle to resign in the wake of the assassination attempt against Trump, making him the first congressional Democrat to do so. [26] Earlier, House Speaker Mike Johnson called on Cheatle to resign, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called for new leadership at the agency on the same day. [27]

On July 22, 2024, Cheatle testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability about the assassination attempt. [28] During the hearing, she acknowledged it was "the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades" and faced a bipartisan chorus of lawmakers calling for her to resign. Her testimony was condemned by House members of both parties for being evasive and uninformative. [29] However, she pledged not to resign. [30] [31] [32] Cheatle also declined to answer questions about whether the Secret Service had rebuffed requests for additional resources for Trump's security detail in the two years leading up to the assassination attempt; the week prior an agency spokesman denied that any such requests had been turned down. [33] [34]

Cheatle resigned from her position as the director of the Secret Service on July 23, 2024. [35] [36] Because she received ongoing threats, she was assigned her own security detail. [37]

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References

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Kimberly Cheatle
Kimberly Cheatle, Secret Service Assistant Director.jpg
27th Director of the United States Secret Service
In office
September 17, 2022 July 23, 2024