Donald Trump narrowly dodged death after a bullet clipped his ear.
The director of the US Secret Service was told she was “full of s***” during an excruciating congressional hearing in which she was told she should resign.
In a tense grilling in front of the House committee on oversight and accountability, she was chastised for refusing to answer specific questions and insisting she was the “best person” for the job.
She was asked if the Secret Service had handed over audio and video recordings related to the shooting.
Cheatle said she would have to “get back” to the committee.
Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, replied: “That is a no. You’re full of s*** today. You’re just being completely dishonest.”
Cheatle admitted during the hearings that the attack on Trump, whose ear was grazed by a bullet after Thomas Matthew Crooks fired a volley of bullets at the former president, was “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades”.
“On July 13, we failed,” Cheatle said. “As director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse.”
During the hearing Cheatle, 53, admitted she had not visited the site of the shooting, said the investigation would take 60 days and would not say when the Secret Service was made aware of the threat to Trump.
She also said she “did not review” the security plan for the rally and that the agency had communicated with police about a suspicious person “two to five times”.
Republican congressman Tim Burchett suggested she only had the top job because she was a woman.
He branded Cheatle a “DEI [diversity, equity, inclusion] horror story” and said she should have been fired for the security failings.
Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat lawmaker from Florida, likened the session to the car crash congressional hearing in which university presidents were questioned about anti-Semitism on campus.
He told Cheatle, who said she hadn’t watched the session: “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.”
Crooks, who was perched on the roof of a nearby building with a clear sightline of the stage, was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper 26 seconds after firing the first of eight shots.
Investigators have concluded that Crooks, who lived in a town about 80 kilometres from Butler, acted alone. They have not been able to identify any strong ideological or political leanings.
Two rally attendees were seriously wounded in the shooting and a 50-year-old firefighter, Corey Comperatore, of Freeport, Pennsylvania, was killed.
During the hearing, several committee members called for Cheatle to resign from the top job.
James Comer, the Republican committee chairman, said “this tragedy was preventable” and “it is my firm belief, director Cheatle, that you should resign”.
United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee during a hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building on July 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. Photo / Getty Images
Democratic representative Ro Khanna also called for Cheatle to step down.
“You cannot go leading the Secret Service agency, when there is an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate.”
Representative Michael Turner, a Republican lawmaker from Ohio, said if Cheatle refused to resign, Joe Biden should fire her because his life was “at risk” from the security failings.
Cheatle rebuffed the calls for her resignation, saying: “I think that I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time”.
She served as a Secret Service agent for 27 years before leaving in 2021 to become the head of security in North America for PepsiCo.
Biden named her in 2022 to head the agency.
The House judiciary committee said last week that it had evidence the Secret Service was not properly resourced for Trump’s rally because of staff shortages created by a rival campaign event in Pittsburgh with First Lady Jill Biden, and a Nato summit held days before in Washington.
Cheatle told lawmakers that the agency protected 36 individuals daily, as well as world leaders visiting the United States.
Monday’s hearing marked the first round of congressional oversight of the attempted assassination.
On Wednesday, FBI director Christopher Wray will appear before the judiciary committee.
