Lawmakers lashed out at U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle in a tense House hearing Monday, with members of both parties calling for her resignation in the wake of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump earlier this month.
In his opening statement, Cheatle acknowledged the Secret Service had “failed” on July 13, when a 20-year-old gunman was able to get a clear shot at the former president from a rooftop near a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump survived but suffered an injury to his ear, and one rally attendee, former fire chief Corey Comperatore, was killed in the attack. Two others were injured.
“As director of the U.S. Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapses in our agency,” Cheatle told the House oversight committee. “We are fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation. We must learn from what happened, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that an incident like July 13 never happens again.”
In a particularly damning moment, Cheatle admitted that Secret Service agents had been alerted to suspicious individuals at Trump’s rally “between two and five times” before the gunman opened fire.
The committee’s Republican chairman, James Comer, called the assassination attempt a “horrific moment in American history” and called on Cheatle to submit his resignation.
Read also: Donald Trump Claims to Have ‘Taken a Bullet for Democracy’ in First Rally After Assassination Attempt
“While we extend our deepest gratitude to the Secret Service agents who performed their duties under tremendous pressure, this tragedy was preventable,” Comer said. “I believe, Director Cheatle, that you should resign.”
Lawmakers repeatedly pressed Cheatle on how such a glaring security lapse could have occurred, but the director sidestepped many of their questions, reminding lawmakers that the investigation into the shooting was still in its early stages. When Cheatle again told Comer that he could not say how many Secret Service agents were assigned to Trump on the day of the shooting, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene interjected: “Why are you here?”
Cheatle denied allegations that the Secret Service denied the Trump campaign’s request for additional security on July 13, telling lawmakers: “The assets requested for that day were provided.”
Read also: Donald Trump Attends Republican Convention with Bandaged Ear
However, Cheatle became more cryptic when Republican congressman Jim Jordan pressed him on whether the Secret Service had denied requests for additional security at previous Trump campaign events.
“You seem unwilling to answer some basic questions,” Jordan said. “And you’re lowering the bar when it comes to protecting one of the most important individuals, one of the most recognizable individuals on the planet.”
Several Republican representatives became openly confrontational as they questioned Cheatle, with Nancy Mace telling the director: “You’re full of shit today.”
Read also: President Joe Biden Feels Safe with Secret Service Despite Questions About Their Readiness
Democrats joined the criticism, and at least two of them, Jamie Raskin and Ro Khanna, echoed Republicans’ calls for Cheatle to resign. Khanna compared the situation to the aftermath of the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. Then-Secret Service Director Stuart Knight resigned months after Reagan was shot.
“Do you really believe that the majority of this country has faith in you right now?” Khanna asked.
Cheatle replied: “I believe this country deserves answers, and I am committed to finding those answers and providing them.”
When asked when more answers might be available, Cheatle said the agency hopes to complete its internal investigation within 60 days, a timeline that drew criticism from committee members.
“The idea of a report coming out in 60 days when the environmental threat is so high in the United States, regardless of party, is unacceptable,” said progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “This is not theater. This is not about competing. This is about the safety of some of the most valued and highly targeted targets – internationally and domestically – in the United States.”
Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the oversight committee, agreed with the call for accountability at the Secret Service while adding that lawmakers should consider the broader issue of gun violence in the U.S. He noted the attack on Trump’s campaign rally was not the deadliest shooting on July 13, as four people were killed later that day after a gunman opened fire at a nightclub in Alabama.
“What happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a double failure: a failure by the Secret Service to properly protect Donald Trump and a failure by Congress to protect our people from criminal gun violence,” Raskin said.
“We must, therefore, also ask hard questions about whether our laws make it too easy for would-be murderers and criminals to acquire firearms in general and AR-15 assault rifles in particular.”
With Republicans in control of the House, it seems unlikely that gun safety legislation will pass Congress anytime soon. And after Cheatle’s appearance on Monday, it seems even more unlikely that he will be able to keep his job for long. (The Guardian/Z-3)
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