Kimberly Cheatle calls the incident “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.”
The head of the U.S. Secret Service has admitted to Congress that the agency failed to prevent the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a July 13 campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
“We have failed. As director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security failures,” Director Kimberly Cheatle, who is facing Republican calls to remove her, said in testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Monday.
“The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13 is the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades,” Cheatle said.
The shooting at an outdoor campaign rally wounded Trump in the ear, killed one rally-goer and injured two others.
The suspected shooter, Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old nursing home assistant, was killed by police. The motive for the shooting is unclear.
Cheatle said Crooks had been identified as a “suspect” before Trump took the stage, but had not been deemed a “threat.”
In response to Republican accusations that the Secret Service, the agency charged with protecting current and former presidents, has denied resources to protect Trump, he said the former president's security had been stepped up before the shooting.
“The level of security provided to the former president was raised well before the campaign and has been steadily increasing as threats evolve,” Cheatle said. “Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death.”
Monday's hearing marked the first round of congressional oversight of the assassination attempt.
FBI Director Christopher Wray is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is also expected to unveil a bipartisan task force that will serve as a focal point for House investigations.
Cheatle has resisted calls to resign from top Republicans, including Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican, echoed those calls at the hearing.
“I firmly believe, Director Cheatle, that you should resign,” the Kentucky Republican told her.
“The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a significant budget, but now it has become the face of incompetence.”
Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly said: “Unacceptable incidents like this highlight the fact that we are an increasingly polarized nation experiencing heightened political tensions.”
