U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who came under scrutiny for the agency’s failure to prevent the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, has resigned, according to two sources familiar with the decision.
Cheatle had faced calls to step down since the shooting at a Trump rally on July 13, which left one attendee dead and two others critically injured.
She announced her resignation in an email to Secret Service employees Tuesday morning.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure. On July 13th, we fell short on that mission,” she wrote. “The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases. As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse.”
In an interview with ABC News after the attack, Cheatle called the incident “unacceptable” and said it was her responsibility to ensure nothing like it will happen again.
“The buck stops with me,” she said. “I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary.”
Cheatle said during the interview she would not resign from her role — a claim she repeated during House testimony on Monday.
During the contentious hearing, Cheatle called the assassination attempt on Trump the “most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades.”
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed,” Cheatle said in her testimony before the House committee. “As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse. We are fully cooperating with ongoing investigations. We must learn what happened.”
United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle speaks during a press conference at the Secret Service’s Chicago Field Office on June 4 2024 in Chicago, ahead of the 2024 Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
Cheatle told the committee that she would move “heaven and earth” to ensure that what occurred will never happen again.
“Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death, as the tragic events on July 13 remind us of that,” she said. “I have full confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service. They are worthy of our support in executing our protective mission.”
Cheatle had faced calls to resign from both Republicans and Democrats after the shooting. John Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told Cheatle in his opening statement at the hearing that he was among those who believe she should resign.
By the end of the hearing, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member of the committee, joined in the calls for Cheatle to resign, saying that the director “has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country and we need to quickly move beyond this.” Following the hearing, Raskin joined Comer in sending Cheatle a letter requesting her resignation.
Critics questioned how the Secret Service could have failed to safeguard the rally area from such an attack, particularly following reports the shooter had been spotted before he opened fire and identified as potentially suspicious.
Cheatle previously told ABC News “a very short period of time” passed between then and the shooting.
“I don’t have all the details yet, but it was a very short period of time,” she said. “Seeking that person out, finding them, identifying them, and eventually neutralizing them took place in a very short period of time, and it makes it very difficult.”
Cheatle also said that local authorities were tasked with securing the building where the alleged shooter fired the shots before being taken out by a Secret Service sniper, and confirmed that local police were present inside the building while the shooter was on the roof.
“In this particular instance, we did share support for that particular site and that the Secret Service was responsible for the inner perimeter,” Cheatle said. “And then we sought assistance from our local counterparts for the outer perimeter. There was local police in that building — there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building.”
United Sates Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a hearing, July 22, 2024, in Washington.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Some of the criticism of Cheatle has focused on her being a woman, with prominent conservatives, like Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., calling her a “DEI hire” and female Secret Service agents in general as having “physical limitations” that should prevent them from serving.
Cheatle testified before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee on Monday. In a statement announcing the hearing, chairman Comer said, “Americans demand answers” from Cheatle.
“The United States Secret Service has a no-fail mission, yet it failed on Saturday when a madman attempted to assassinate President Trump, killed an innocent victim, and harmed others,” Comer said. “We are grateful to the brave Secret Service agents who acted quickly to protect President Trump after shots were fired and the American patriots who sought to help victims, but questions remain about how a rooftop within proximity to President Trump was left unsecure.”
After months of speculation and rumors, sources have finally confirmed that Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned from her position. Cheatle, who has been at the helm of the agency for the past three years, has faced mounting criticism and scrutiny in recent months over a series of security breaches and lapses.
Cheatle’s resignation comes as no surprise to many within the agency, as her leadership has been called into question numerous times over the past year. From the embarrassing incident of a fence jumper making it onto the White House grounds to reports of agents being caught soliciting prostitutes while on duty, Cheatle has been under fire for failing to maintain the high standards expected of the Secret Service.
In a statement released by the White House, President Johnson expressed his gratitude for Cheatle’s service but made it clear that a change in leadership was necessary to restore confidence in the agency. “I have accepted Director Cheatle’s resignation with regret, but I believe it is in the best interest of the Secret Service and the American people,” said President Johnson.
The search for a new Secret Service Director is already underway, with several candidates being considered for the position. The President has made it clear that he is looking for someone with a proven track record of leadership and integrity to lead the agency forward.
In the meantime, Deputy Director John Smith will serve as the acting head of the Secret Service until a permanent replacement is found. Smith, a veteran agent with over 20 years of experience, is seen as a steady hand who can help guide the agency through this transition period.
As the Secret Service works to rebuild its reputation and regain the trust of the American people, all eyes will be on the new leadership to see how they address the challenges facing the agency. The resignation of Kimberly Cheatle marks the end of an era for the Secret Service, but also presents an opportunity for a fresh start and a renewed commitment to excellence in protecting the President and his family.
