Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigns over Trump shooting outrage

In the midst of investigation into security breaches connected to the recent attempt on the life of US President Donald Trump, US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has tendered her resignation.

The action is being taken as lawmakers and an internal government watchdog continue their inquiries into how the agency handled Trump's security and how a gunman nearly killed the Republican presidential contender for Pennsylvania in 2024 during a rally this month.

On Tuesday, Cheatle in a letter wrote to Secret Service staff, “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director.”

“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure. On July 13th, we fell short on that mission,” said Cheatle, who served in the agency for nearly 30 years.

“The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases,” she wrote. “As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse.”

Ronald Rowe, the deputy director of the Secret Service, has been appointed director of the organization, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Biden in a statement thanked Cheatle for “her decades of public service,” and said, “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.”

A new Secret Service head will be appointed "soon," according to Biden's announcement.

Biden named Cheatle as the head of the Secret Service in 2022.

Cheatle's retirement, according to a statement from the House Oversight Committee chairman, will not lessen the panel's demands for "more accountability" from the Secret Service.

“The Secret Service has a no-fail mission yet it failed historically on Director Cheatle’s watch,” said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the chairman who had demanded her resignation, along with the panel’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and other committee members.

“While Director Cheatle’s resignation is a step toward accountability, we need a full review of how these security failures happened so that we can prevent them going forward.”

The primary targets of Cheatle's criticism are the Secret Service's inadequacies in securing a roof that Crooks utilized as a sniper's position to fire at Trump and rallygoers.

The Secret Service was notified of intelligence suggesting that Trump was the target of an Iranian murder plan, which led to the shooting, the most serious attempt on the life of a U.S. president in almost 40 years. Crooks and Iran have not been connected.