The director is facing bipartisan calls to step down in the wake of the assassination attempt.
WASHINGTON—The House Oversight Committee kicked off its investigation of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 22 by demanding answers from Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Ms. Cheatle declined to provide the committee with some key details as to how suspected shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, managed to come close to a kill shot on a former president before being killed by a Secret Service sharpshooter.
However, the director did confirm certain details, including when the gunman was deemed a “threat” by agency personnel.
She also rebuffed growing bipartisan calls to resign.
Here are the key takeaways from the hearing.
Cheatle Admits Failure
The shooting at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally claimed the life of one attendee and injured several others, including former President Trump, who miraculously only sustained a minor injury to his right ear.
Describing the incident as “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades,” Ms. Cheatle began her testimony by accepting full responsibility for the security lapses that allowed it to occur.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed,” she said, vowing to “move heaven and earth” to ensure that such an attack never happens again.
It’s a message Ms. Cheatle was forced to repeat several times throughout the hearing as members questioned her over the severity of her agency’s security failures.
Bipartisan Calls to Resign
As both Republican and Democrat committee members peppered Ms. Cheatle with questions, they called several times for her to step down.
“If you have an assassination attempt on a president or a candidate, you need to resign,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said.
As precedent, he pointed to the 1981 resignation of Secret Service Director Stuart Knight after the assassination attempt against President Ronald Reagan.
Ms. Cheatle told the committee that she had no intention of resigning.
“I think I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time,” she said at one point.
By Samantha Flom and Arjun Singh
