The United States Secret Service director will tell Congress on Monday the agency failed in protecting former President Donald Trump on July 13 and will take full responsibility for the lapses in security that day.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we failed,” U.S. Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle is expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee, according to testimony excerpts released by the Department of Homeland Security. “As the Director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse. As an agency, we are fully cooperating with the FBI’s investigation, the oversight you have initiated here, and conducting our own internal mission assurance review at my direction. Likewise, we will cooperate with the pending external review and the DHS Office of the Inspector General.”
In her first hearing before Congress, Cheatle is also expected to tell the committee that she will move “heaven and earth” to ensure what occurred on July 13 will never happen again, according to the excerpts obtained by ABC News.
“Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death, as the tragic events on July 13th remind us. I have full confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service,” she is expected to say. “They are worthy of our support in executing our protective mission.”
This is yet another consequential week for the Secret Service, which is tasked with providing security to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington, D.C., something the director has been focused on while also overseeing the security in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention.
Cheatle will face a grilling before the House Oversight Committee on Monday over how her agency handled security around the attempted assassination of Trump.
She has faced calls from multiple Republicans and at least one Democrat to resign after the former president was targeted at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
U.S. Secret Service Director is interviewed about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump by ABC News’ Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas in Milwaukee, WI on July 15, 2024.
Jack Date / ABC
She has said she will not resign.
Lawmakers on the House Oversight and Governmental Affairs Committee will press Cheatle on what went wrong, what the Secret Service knew and when they knew it.
She will also face questions about whether her agency denied former President Trump’s security detail resources it has requested in the two years before Saturday, as first reported by The Washington Post, something her agency initially denied but then admitted over the weekend.
In a statement to ABC News, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said, “In some instances where specific Secret Service specialized units or resources were not provided, the agency made modifications to ensure the security of the protectee. This may include utilizing state or local partners to provide specialized functions or otherwise identifying alternatives to reduce public exposure of a protectee.”
The Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, is seen Monday July 15, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
“The American People have lots of questions, and they deserve answers,” the Republican chairman, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, said on “Fox News Sunday” when asked about Monday’s hearing.
In a rare bipartisan statement, the committee’s top Democrat, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, had joined Comer in demanding that Cheatle testify after the Department of Homeland Security asked that her appearance be delayed, resulting in Comer issuing a subpoena.
“Americans have many serious questions about the historic security failures that occurred at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle must appear before the House Oversight Committee without delay on Monday, July 22 to answer our many questions and provide the transparency and accountability that Americans deserve and that are at the foundation of our government,” they wrote.
The DHS inspector general has opened three separate investigations into what went wrong, the FBI is currently leading a criminal investigation and House Speaker Mike Johnson has pledged congressional resources for a separate investigation.
The Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, is seen Monday July 15, 2024 in Butler, Pa. Trump was wounded on July 13 during an assassination attempt while speaking at the rally.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
As the head of the agency, Cheatle said it was her responsibility to investigate what went wrong and ensure that it does not happen again.
“The buck stops with me,” she told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas in an exclusive interview last Monday. “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 has been in Milwaukee the past week overseeing security for the Republican National Convention and met with the former president last Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the situation.
“Secret Service is not political,” she told ABC News. “Security is not political. People’s safety is not political. And that’s what we’re focused on as an agency.”
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he is assisted by security personnel after gunfire rang out during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024.
Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
Republicans also signaled they would question her about past statements that promoting diversity in the agency was a top priority.
DHS pushed back against criticism of women in Trump’s security detail.
“In the days following the attempted assassination of former President Trump, some people have made public statements questioning the presence of women in law enforcement, including in the United States Secret Service,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other senior leaders wrote in a statement. “These assertions are baseless and insulting.”
The recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has sent shockwaves through the nation, prompting many to question the effectiveness of the Secret Service in protecting high-profile individuals. In response to this incident, the Secret Service Director is expected to testify in a Congressional hearing to address the failure in preventing the assassination attempt.
The attempted assassination took place during a rally in Dallas, Texas, where a lone gunman managed to breach security and fire several shots at the former president before being apprehended by Secret Service agents. Fortunately, Trump was unharmed, but the incident has raised concerns about the security protocols in place to protect public figures.
During the upcoming Congressional hearing, the Secret Service Director is expected to provide insight into what went wrong during the assassination attempt and what steps are being taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. This testimony is crucial in ensuring that the Secret Service is held accountable for any lapses in security and that measures are put in place to enhance protection for high-profile individuals.
One of the key questions that will likely be addressed during the hearing is how the gunman was able to breach security and get so close to the former president. It is essential for the Secret Service Director to provide a detailed account of the events leading up to the assassination attempt and identify any weaknesses in the security protocols that allowed the gunman to get so close to Trump.
Additionally, the Director is expected to outline any changes or improvements that have been implemented since the incident to enhance security measures and prevent similar breaches in the future. This may include increased training for agents, enhanced screening procedures, or changes in the way security is handled at public events.
The outcome of this Congressional hearing will be crucial in determining the effectiveness of the Secret Service in protecting high-profile individuals and ensuring that such incidents do not occur again in the future. It is imperative that the Director provides a transparent and thorough account of the events surrounding the assassination attempt and outlines concrete steps that are being taken to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
In conclusion, the expected testimony from the Secret Service Director on the Trump assassination attempt failure in the upcoming Congressional hearing will shed light on what went wrong during the incident and what measures are being taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. It is essential that accountability is upheld, and that steps are taken to enhance security protocols and protect public figures from harm.
