Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned following a contentious testimony before House members on Monday.
During the hearing, Cheatle admitted the agency was responsible for a "colossal failure" under her guidance.
“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she wrote in the email to staff today, according to ABC/CBS affiliate WTRF. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
During her testimony, Cheatle faced a day of harsh questioning from Republicans and Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee for failing to prevent an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump during a Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), called for the director's resignation.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) departed from the others by suggesting she should be fired.
“Why was President Trump allowed onstage 10 minutes after the Secret Service spotted a suspicious individual?" the lawmaker asked. "That seems to me to be the worst thing of all … all the BS you’ve been feeding us here today, or not feeding us, that seems to be the question.”
He concluded his questioning by referring to Cheatle as "a DEI horror story." BREAKING - BRUTAL: "You're a DEI horror story," Republican Congressman Tim Burchett (@timburchett) lambasts Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, questions her about short agents protecting Donald Trump, who is over 6 feet tall, a reference to the female agent. BRUTAL. WATCH pic.twitter.com/mIkYGxdfUt
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) July 22, 2024
The former director agreed with Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that the shooting represented the greatest security lapse since the attempted assassination against Ronald Reagan in 1981.
“Do you know what [former Secret Service director] Stuart Knight did, afterwards?” Khanna asked.
“He remained on duty,” Cheatle replied.
“He resigned,” Khanna said. “He resigned. … I just don’t think this is partisan. If you have an assassination attempt on a president, former president, or a candidate, you need to resign.”
Over the course of her testimony, Cheatle also revealed that, although radio communications were routinely recorded, they do not have "radio communications" from the July 13 event.
When Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) asked why Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to fly a drone over the area of the rally on the day of his assassination attempt, Cheatle said she would “have to go back and check the timeline.”
“Why didn’t you bring the timeline with you today to answer our questions?” the lawmaker shot back. “Were you not prepared today?”
When Cheatle said she was prepared “to answer the questions based on the information and wanted to be able to provide,” Greene cut her off and asked, “Do you have a timeline at all from any of the day?”
“I have a timeline that does not have specifics,” she responded.
“That’s shocking,” Greene said, as attendees began laughing off-camera. “That is absolutely unacceptable. That means you are a failure at your job.”
Greene then asked Cheatle if she issued a stand down order or if she was involved in a conspiracy to kill Trump.
"Just to be clear: this changes nothing," The Federalist co-founder and CEO Sean Davis wrote on X following news of the former director's resignation. "Cheatle needs to be investigated, charged, and convicted for her role in the assassination attempt on Trump."
Author Ann Coulter said the resignation is "about 16 months too late."
President Joe Biden issued a statement thanking Cheatle for her work as a public servant.
"We especially thank her for answering the call to lead the Secret Service during our Administration and we are grateful for her service to our family," the statement reads. "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 added: "The independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13 continues, and I look forward to assessing its conclusions. We all know what happened that day can never happen again. As we move forward, I wish Kim all the best, and I will plan to appoint a new Director soon."
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story did not include Biden's statement
