The head of the US Secret Service resigned on Tuesday, one day after telling a Congressional committee that she would not step down. Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation follows the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump earlier this month at a rally in Pennsylvania.
She admitted during her appearance before Congress that the incident was “the most significant operational failure” for the Secret Service in decades, but she believed she was still the “right person” for the job.
However, less than 24 hours later, she sent an email informing Secret Service employees of her departure. She wrote that she took “full responsibility for the security lapse” and did not want calls for her resignation to be a “distraction” from their work.
Cheatle had led the agency for two years, and she had earlier served President Joe Biden during his time as vice president. In a statement, he thanked her for her decades of public service but said what happened at the rally “can never happen again.” He added that he would appoint a new director soon.
Authorities have launched several investigations into the shooting. Critics have focused on how the gunman was able to get so close — about 130 meters — from the stage. He hit Trump in the ear, killed a man in the crowd, and wounded two others.
Trump called for unity among Americans in the wake of the shooting. However, he now says the Biden-Harris administration “did not properly protect” him and that he was forced to “take a bullet” for democracy.