Kimberly Cheatle resigned as U.S. Secret Service director on Tuesday amid fallout from the agency’s failure to prevent an assassination attempt on former U.S. president Donald Trump on July 13.
Cheatle faced withering, bipartisan criticism from lawmakers at a congressional hearing on Monday, as she refused to provide clear answers about the shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania, in which one man was killed, two were seriously injured and the former president was shot in the ear.
“Your horrifying ineptitude and your lack of skilled leadership is a disgrace,” said Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas). “Your obfuscating today is shameful, and you should be fired immediately and go back to guarding Doritos.” (Cheatle was previously director of global security at PepsiCo, which makes Doritos.)
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) compared Cheatle’s performance at the hearing to that of the presidents of Harvard and Columbia Universities, both of whom resigned in the wake of a congressional hearing about Jew-hatred on campus.
“I just want to give you an honest assessment of how this is going for you today,” Moskowitz said. “It didn’t go well, and the short end of that story was those university professors all resigned. They’re gone. That’s how this is going for you. This is where this is headed.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced the creation of a bipartisan task force to investigate the assassination attempt on Tuesday.
At a press conference, Johnson said that Cheatle’s resignation was overdue.
“She should have done this at least a week ago,” Johnson said. “Now we have to pick up the pieces. We have to rebuild the American people’s faith and trust in the Secret Service.”
U.S. President Joe Biden thanked Cheatle for her service in a statement.
“As a leader, it takes honor, courage and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service,” Biden stated. “I wish Kim all the best, and I will plan to appoint a new director soon.”
