Secret Service Director Cheatle Resigns Following Trump Assassination Attempt

Secret Service Director Cheatle Resigns Following Trump Assassination Attempt

Embattled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned. 

The move Tuesday comes after Cheatle faced mounting criticism —  and calls to step down — after the shooting at the rally for former President Donald Trump that killed one.  

In Cheatle's own words, it marked the "most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades."

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Cheatle's resignation comes as the Secret Service faces intense scrutiny from numerous federal and congressional inquiries into its handling of security before and during Trump's political rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.

She was blasted by both Democrats and Republicans during a Congressional hearing on Monday.

 

As Axios reports:

"House lawmakers have said that FBI and Secret Service officials told them that the building from which the gunman fired his shots was identified as "an area of concern" as early as five days ahead of the event.

On the day of the rally, the Secret Service was notified of a suspicious person with a rangefinder about 10 minutes before Trump walked on stage and roughly 20 minutes before shots were fired."