Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned from her position Tuesday, less than two weeks after her agency’s security failures led to an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally.
Cheatle, who has been with the Secret Service for nearly 30 years, faced mounting calls from lawmakers across the political spectrum to step down in the wake of the incident, which left one dead, two seriously injured, and the former president wounded.
The director made the announcement in an email to colleagues, first published by ABC News, in which she said the agency “fell short” of its mission to protect the country’s leaders.
“In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,” Cheatle wrote.
The agency had been facing considerable heat from both Democrats and Republicans for letting a gunman gain access to a rooftop in close proximity to Trump and fire multiple shots into a rally crowd. Authorities identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, as the shooter.
As Trump was speaking onstage, one of Crooks’s bullets came within inches of killing the former president and instead grazed the side of his head, causing a minor injury to his ear.
Cheatle initially said she would not resign following the assassination attempt, the first one on a president or former president since former President Ronald Reagan was shot and injured in 1981.
At a hearing Monday before the House Oversight Committee, Cheatle acknowledged that the shooting marked “the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades.” She said the agency was made aware about two to five times of a “suspicious person” at Trump’s rally before the shooting.
However, she provided few specifics in response to Congress members’ questions and often cited open investigations as a reason she could not give details. Her responses left lawmakers dissatisfied, leading to Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the two leaders on the committee who almost never agree, issuing a rare bipartisan demand that she step down.
During the hearing, others also pressured Cheatle to resign.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who has introduced impeachment articles against Cheatle, asked the director if she wanted to use Mace’s five minutes of speaking time to draft her resignation letter.
“No, thank you,” Cheatle replied.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) asked Cheatle what the agency’s director did in the wake of Reagan’s attempted assassination. Cheatle replied that he stayed on duty, but Khanna countered that the director had actually resigned.
President Joe Biden, who appointed Cheatle as director in 2022, commended her on her career in a statement, saying she has “selflessly dedicated and risked her life to protect our nation.” The president said he would appoint a new director soon.
“As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service,” Biden stated. “The independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13 continues, and I look forward to assessing its conclusions.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who has stood by Cheatle in the face of the calls for her resignation, said in a statement that Cheatle was “deeply respected by the men and women of the agency and by her fellow leaders in the Department of Homeland Security.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who is working with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to create a task force to investigate the assassination attempt, said he spoke with Cheatle personally before the hearing Monday.
Johnson said he told her the calls for her to resign were “not personal” but that it would be best if she stepped aside. Her reaction was “stoic” and “sort of non-responsive,” Johnson said.
“She seemed to, almost in some way, almost be a little bit in shock about the events,” Johnson said.
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Upon learning of her resignation, Johnson told reporters it was “overdue.”
“I’m happy to see she has heeded the call from both Republicans and Democrats,” the speaker said.
Cami Mondeaux contributed to this report.
