Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Monday called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign.
Kana said, Cheatle’s testimony Speaking before the House Oversight Committee, the congressman grilled Cheatle about the Secret Service’s failure to protect former President Trump, leading to a shocking exchange.
“Secretary Cheatle, do you agree that this is the most serious security lapse since President Reagan was shot in 1981?” Khanna asked.
“Yes, I will,” Cheatle replied.
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Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Monday called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign. (Reuters/Kevin Mohat)
“By the way, do you know what Stuart Knight did? He was head of the Secret Service at the time. Do you know what he did?” Khanna asked.
“He continued to carry out his duties,” Cheatle said.
“He resigned. He resigned,” Khanna corrected. “Stuart Knight is not a Democratic appointee…. I’m not questioning your judgment, I just don’t think this is a partisan thing. When there’s an assassination attempt on a president, a former president, a candidate, you need to resign.”
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“That’s what Stuart Knight did. He’s a Republican appointee and he took responsibility. You can’t be the head of a security agency when there’s an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate,” he concluded.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., grilled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle about the agency’s failure to protect former President Trump. (Office of Congressman Ro Khanna)
President Reagan was shot in March 1981 and Knight resigned on November 30, although his resignation had been announced several months earlier.
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Khanna is one of several lawmakers who have called on Cheatle to resign. She has so far refused. But Cheatle acknowledged in his opening statement Monday that the department “failed.”
Rep. Ro Khanna is among the lawmakers who have called for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13th, we failed in that mission,” Cheatle said in his opening statement. “As Director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any and all security failings at our agency. We are cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation. We must find out what happened, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that an incident like July 13th never happens again.”
