(Washington) — The director of the U.S. Secret Service is resigning from her post, according to an email she sent to staff, following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump that sparked growing outcry over how the agency tasked with protecting current and former presidents may be failing in its core mission.
Kimberly Cheatle, who has served as Secret Service director since August 2022, has faced growing calls for her resignation and multiple investigations into how the shooter got so close to the Republican presidential candidate at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“I take full responsibility for the security breaches,” she said in the email to staff Tuesday. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as director.”
The resignation of Mme Cheatle’s testimony comes a day after she appeared before a congressional committee and was berated for hours by Democrats and Republicans alike for security failures. She called the attack on Mr. Trump the “most significant operational failure” of the Secret Service in decades. She also said she took full responsibility for security failures, but angered lawmakers by failing to answer specific questions about the investigation.
The 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get within 135 yards of the stage where the former president was speaking when he opened fire. That was despite a death threat from Iran against Mr. Trump, which led to increased security for the former president in the days leading up to the July 13 rally.