Calls for Secret Service chief to resign after Trump rally shooting
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The US Secret Service chief was grilled during a House hearing and pressured to resign after the Trump rally shooting, during which several gaps in Secret Service procedure were observed.
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Kimberly A. Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, is set to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Monday morning. (AP)
The US Secret Service chief, Kimberly Cheatle, was called to resign by both US parties during a House hearing on Monday, in the wake of the assassination attempt against Donald Trump earlier this month.
Cheatle admitted in her opening statement that the Secret Service had "failed" on July 13, when the former president's shooter was able to take a clear shot from a rooftop near the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The former president survived the shooting, only sustaining an injury to the ear. Other than the former president, one rally attendee, former fire chief Corey Comperatore, was killed in the attack and two others were injured.
“As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency,” Cheatle told the House oversight committee, adding that there is an investigation to know exactly what happened.
She further detailed that the agents were informed of a suspicious individual at the rally "somewhere between two and five times" before the incident.
Members call for Cheatle's resignation
The Republican chair of the committee, James Comer, mourned the assassination attempt as “a horrifying moment in American history” and demanded that Cheatle offer her resignation.
The Republican chair of the committee, James Comer, bewailed the assassination attempt as "a horrifying moment in American history" and demanded that Cheatle offer her resignation, adding that "this tragedy was preventable."
The Secret Service chief was grilled about the security lapse that had occurred and was blamed for not knowing the specifics of security arrangements on that day — such as how many Secret Service agents were assigned to Trump. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene interjected, 'Why are you here?" Cheatle defended herself by emphasizing that the investigation was still in its earliest stages, indicating that no conclusions should be made just yet.
Cheatle refuted accusations that the Secret Service had declined the Trump campaign’s requests for extra security on July 13th, stating to lawmakers that "the requested assets for that day were provided." However, Cheatle became more ambiguous when Republican congressman Jim Jordan pressed her on whether the Secret Service had rejected previous requests for additional security at Trump campaign events.
“It looks like you won’t answer some pretty basic questions,” Jordan said. “And you cut corners when it came to protecting one of the most important individuals, one of the most well-known individuals on the planet.”
Some Republican representatives grew openly combative as they questioned Cheatle, with Nancy Mace bluntly telling the director, "You're full of it today."
Democrats echo Republican calls
Democratic lawmakers joined the criticism, with Jamie Raskin and Ro Khanna among them, supporting calls, also made by Republicans, for Cheatle to resign. Khanna likened the situation to the aftermath of the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, pointing out that Stuart Knight, the Secret Service director at the time, resigned in the months that followed.
“Do you really believe that the majority of this country has confidence in you right now?” Khanna asked.
Cheatle replied, “I believe that the country deserves answers, and I am committed to finding those answers and providing those answers.”
When asked about the timeline for providing more answers, Cheatle stated that the agency aimed to complete its internal investigation within 60 days. This timeline drew criticism from committee members.
Democrats seize the moment to attack the Second Amendment
Raskin, the Democratic ranking member of the oversight committee, endorsed demands for accountability within the Secret Service and emphasized the necessity for lawmakers to confront the broader issue of gun violence in the US.
He observed that the Trump campaign rally incident, while significant, was not the deadliest event on July 13th, noting that four people were killed later that day in a shooting at an Alabama nightclub.
“What happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a double failure: the failure by the Secret Service to properly protect Donald Trump and the failure of Congress to properly protect our people from criminal gun violence,” Raskin said.
