Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has reportedly resigned just over a week after former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt. Cheatle sent an email to agents announcing that she was stepping down on Tuesday, July 23. The Secret Service is expected to make a formal announcement later in the day. She stepped down after serving as director for about two years.
Cheatle announced her resignation throughout the agency in an email sent out on Tuesday. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,” she said, per NBC News. In the email, she took “full responsibility for the security lapse” and she noted that the decision came following “scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases.”
Cheatle has faced intense backlash following an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. The Secret Service Director testified in front of the House Oversight Committee on Monday, July 22. During the session, representatives from both sides of the aisle grilled her over the lapse in security. “Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death, as the tragic events on July 13 remind us of that,” she said as part of her testimony. “I have full confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service. They are worthy of our support in executing our protective mission.”
Following the shooting, Cheatle addressed the questions about security in a statement on July 15. “The incident in Pennsylvania has understandably led to questions about potential updates or changes to the security for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. The U.S. Secret Service, in conjunction with our Federal, state and local law enforcement and public safety partners, designs operational security plans for National Special Security Events (NSSE) to be dynamic in order to respond to a kinetic security environment and the most up-to-date intelligence from our partners,” she said.