President Joe Biden has released a statement after refusing to fire Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle:
Jill and I are grateful to Director Kim Cheatle for her decades of public service. She has selflessly dedicated and risked her life to protect our nation throughout her career in the United States Secret Service. 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.
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.
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.
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After overseeing the worst security failure in the past four decades, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned.
The decision comes more than a week after an attempted assassin shot former President Donald Trump in the ear from an unsecured rooftop during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
On Tuesday Cheatle testified in front of the House Oversight Committee where her stonewalling and non-answers were roundly rejected by Democratic and Republican lawmakers. She was defiant in her decision to stay on the job, even if the assassination attempt had been successful.
After the hearing, Chairman James Comer and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin wrote a joint letter to Cheatle calling for her resignation.
“On July 13, 2024, the United States Secret Service under your leadership failed to protect former President Donald Trump from an assassination attempt that took the life of Corey Comperatore and seriously injured at least two other people,” Comer and Raskin wrote. “Today, you failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure and to reassure the American people that the Secret Service has learned its lessons and begun to correct its systemic blunders and failures.
“We call on you to resign as Director as a first step to allowing new leadership to swiftly address this crisis and rebuild the trust of a truly concerned Congress and the American people,” they continued. In an interview with ABC News last week, Cheatle claimed the unsecured rooftop was left open because it was “sloped.” That explanation was preposterous. She also failed to visit the site in Butler. Lawmakers were able to do so.
Despite the resignation, lawmakers plan to compel Cheatle for additional testimony.
During a press briefing at the White House last week, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he had “100 percent confidence” in Cheatle’s ability to do her job.
Today, Mayorkas released this statement:
“I am grateful to Kimberly Cheatle for her leadership as the Director of the United States Secret Service and for her lifelong devotion to our country.
“Director Cheatle has dedicated her career to public service. She has served in the Secret Service for more than 29 years, rising through the ranks because of her talent, hard work, selfless dedication to mission, and integrity. Daily, she risked her life to protect others, serving on the frontlines and securing events for every president since President Clinton. She supervised protection for Vice President Cheney, led the Secret Service’s training center, supervised the protection of Vice President Biden, oversaw the agency’s entire protective mission during the administration of President Trump, and more.“Reflecting her devotion to country above all else, Director Cheatle returned from retirement to lead the agency and its noble mission that she loves and to which she has devoted her career. Over the past two years, she has led the Secret Service with skill, honor, integrity, and tireless dedication. She is deeply respected by the men and women of the agency and by her fellow leaders in the Department of Homeland Security. I am proud to have worked with Director Cheatle and we are all grateful for her service.
“The men and women of the United States Secret Service risk their lives every day to protect others. They make the Secret Service the finest protective agency in the world.”
