Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has stepped down from her post amid criticism following the assassination attempt of former U.S. president and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
In an email penned to agency staff, Cheatle bore responsibility for the events that led up to Trump being shot in the ear by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks at a rally in Butler, Pa. before a counter-sniper claimed the shooter’s life.
“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” Cheatle wrote. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
Cheatle’s resignation comes as a litany of complaints from officials, including members of Mississippi’s congressional delegation in Senate Armed Forces Committee ranking member Roger Wicker and House Homeland Security Committee member Michael Guest, called for the federal agency head to no longer be in charge of protecting U.S. political leaders or those surrounding them.
“For the Secret Service to begin repairing trust with the public, its director must resign,” Wicker said on Friday with Guest parroting similar sentiments on Tuesday’s airing of The Gallo Show.
“If she refuses to resign, she should be terminated immediately,” Guest said. “She didn’t go to the scene. She has not talked to the agents. She did not review the [operation] plan. She did not grant the additional resources that Trump’s security detail requested, basically putting in motion the events of July 13.”
Guest also noted that Cheatle, who called the July 13 shooting the “most significant operational failure” by Secret Service in a very long time, did not terminate anyone under her umbrella who was responsible for drafting the security plan for the Butler rally.
Though Cheatle remained steadfast that she was “fit for the job” and even scoffed at the idea of drafting her resignation letter during a Monday congressional hearing in which she was lambasted by lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle, she ultimately had a change of heart a day later.
Investigators are continuing to assess the shooting that claimed the life of beloved firefighter Corey Comperatore and left three others, including Trump, with injuries. Trump announced at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisc. last week that the two others who were shot — 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver — are now in stable condition.
On Tuesday, Secret Service Deputy Director Ronald Rowe, Jr., was promoted to the role of acting director. He has spent the past 25 years with the agency.
Prior to his time as deputy director, Rowe served as the agency’s assistant director for the Office of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs. He was responsible for leading the Secret Service’s engagement with Congress, the Department of Homeland Security, and other government partners.
Rowe’s previous executive experience within the Secret Service includes serving as the Chief of Staff to the Director (2021), the Deputy Assistant Director for the Office of Protective Operations (2018-2021), and the Deputy Assistant Director for the Office of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs (2017-2018).
More information on the new acting director can be found here.
