Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the US Secret Service responsible for protecting the President of the United States, described the shooting incident involving former US President Donald Trump as “the most significant operational failure in decades.”
According to Reuters on the 22nd, Cheatle, the director of the White House Secret Service, testified as a witness at a House oversight committee investigation into the incident, admitting “responsibility for this tragedy.” However, Cheatle refused to resign, stating, “I believe I am the right person to lead the Secret Service.” She emphasized that they will investigate how this incident occurred and take corrective actions to prevent it from happening again.
Cheatle also explained that the Secret Service had increased security for former President Trump ahead of the shooting incident. She stated, “The security level for former President Trump had been raised since before the election campaign, and it had been continuously increased as the threat grew.” Cheatle added that the Secret Service provided the security level demanded by Trump’s campaign for rallies.
She expressed a desire to provide fact-based information but mentioned that several investigations, including an internal investigation, would need to be conducted over 60 days. Democratic and Republican lawmakers criticized Cheatle for suggesting that a report would be released within 60 days, considering the heightened threat to the US.
Republican House member James Comer and Democratic House member Jamie Raskin called for Cheatle’s resignation on that day. Comer stated, “Today, we unanimously expressed disappointment,” and said, “We do not believe in your ability to lead the Secret Service.” Raskin criticized Cheatle for “losing the trust of the Congress in a very urgent and sensitive moment in this country’s history.”
Earlier, former President Trump was injured by a gunshot fired by Thomas Mathew Krucke on July 13 while campaigning outdoors in Butler, Pennsylvania. At that time, the Secret Service failed to respond for about 20 minutes after confirming that Krucke was on the roof of a building near the campaign site, leading to criticism of a “security failure.”