Kimberly Cheatle, director of the U.S. Secret Service, told ABC News she plans to stay on in her role despite growing calls for her to resign following Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
In an exclusive interview, Cheatle condemned the shooting, said he “takes responsibility” and said he had no plans to resign.
“Obviously, as a Secret Service agent, this was a situation that nobody wants to have happen in their career,” Cheatle said.
Cheatle said he did not have all the details about reports that officers had seen the gunman before the shooting.
Biden meets with Trump after Pennsylvania rally shooting
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle holds a press conference in Chicago on June 4. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
“The process of locating, locating, identifying and ultimately neutralizing the perpetrators was very quick and extremely challenging,” she said.
Cheatle has since remained adamant that he will not resign, despite being heavily criticized for flaws that allowed the shooter to have a clear view of Trump with his rifle from about 150 yards away.
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado on Monday introduced the Secret Service Accountability Act to hold Cheatle accountable for “Secret Service incompetence and failure” in protecting Trump at Saturday’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
House Oversight Committee asks Secret Service director to testify about Trump assassination attempt
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Saturday’s assassination attempt on President Trump was the result of either intent or gross incompetence on the part of the U.S. Secret Service,” Boebert said in a press release. “Director Cheatle’s failure of leadership has led the U.S. Secret Service to prioritize conscious DEI policies over the Secret Service’s core responsibilities, including protecting our nation’s leaders. This lack of leadership contributed to the first attempted assassination of a president in 43 years. Director Cheatle should resign!”
The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed Cheatle to testify about Saturday’s deadly shooting.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said in a letter to Cheatle on the same day that his committee had opened an investigation into the assassination attempt and had asked him to “voluntarily” appear in court.
Secret Service director slams ‘unacceptable’ response to Trump assassination attempt: ‘unbelievable’
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) (center) speaks during a press conference condemning the pro-Palestinian protests taking place at universities across the country with House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, DC, on April 30, 2024. House Republicans have demanded the removal of university leaders and threatened to withhold funding from higher education institutions if they do not dismantle and remove protest camps and prevent demonstrations on their campuses. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, vowed to summon Cheatle and “appropriate officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI” to the House of Representatives to explain themselves.
Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) pressed Cheatle to assure the public that the upcoming Republican and Democratic conventions will be held safely.
“The Director of the Secret Service needs to come out ASAP and let us know why this happened and whether all attendees at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions are safe,” Scott wrote to X.
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Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) speaks during a press conference at the Capitol in Washington, DC on May 22, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
A former FBI special agent slammed Cheatle following the assassination attempt on former President Trump, warning that his response was “unacceptable.”
Nicole Parker, a Fox News contributor who served as an FBI special agent, slammed Director Kimberly Cheatle for her handling of the attack on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“Where was she or where was the representative of the U.S. Secret Service? The first press conference … that’s where they are. There should have been a representative there,” Parker told Maria Bartiromo on Monday.
Mr Parker said Mr Cheatle waited too long to speak after the attack.
Witness accounts after Pennsylvania assassination attempt on Trump: ‘There was blood everywhere’
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump reacts as multiple gunshots ring out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA, on July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDiarmid)
“Even if she doesn’t come forward, there will be potential assassination attempts. If there was ever a time for her to come forward, it’s now. And it’s just silence. This is unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, there have been growing calls for Mr Cheatle to resign over the attack, which left one protester dead and two seriously injured.
President Biden will nominate her to be director of the Secret Service in 2022, making her the second woman in history to head the agency.
According to the Secret Service’s website, Cheatle is responsible for executing the agency’s overall mission of “leading a diverse workforce in protection and investigative services.” Critics have accused Cheatle of prioritizing a “woke” ideology rooted in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) rather than focusing solely on recruiting the best talent for the agency.
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“It’s unbelievable how this happened and it’s horrifying for America,” Parker said. “If a 20-year-old can disrupt our political process and cause this mayhem, then look at our adversaries. Can you imagine? They’re probably just sitting there laughing. This is inexcusable. This is unacceptable. And then this happened. This is a failure.”
Fox News’ Bradford Betts, Stephanie Price, Bailey Hill and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
