Secret Service Chief Admits Trump Shooting Was ‘Most Significant Operational Failure’

US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle admitted to Congress on Monday that she and her agency failed when a would-be assassin wounded Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a July 13 campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

“We failed. As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse,” Cheatle said in testimony before the House Oversight Committee. She faces Republican calls for her removal.

“The assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13 is the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades,” Cheatle stated.

Responding to Republican claims that the Secret Service denied resources to protect Trump, she emphasized that security had increased ahead of the shooting.

“The level of security provided for the former president increased well before the campaign and has been steadily increasing as threats evolve,” Cheatle explained. “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 attempted assassination. On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray will appear before the House Judiciary Committee. House Speaker Mike Johnson is also set to unveil a bipartisan task force to oversee House investigations.

Cheatle has resisted calls for her resignation from top Republicans, including Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer echoed those calls at the hearing.

“It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign,” Comer said. “The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a significant budget. But it has now become the face of incompetence.”

Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly remarked, “Unacceptable incidents like this one highlight the fact that we are an increasingly polarized nation experiencing heightened political tensions.”

The shooting at an outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, wounded Trump in the ear, killed one rally attendee, and injured another. The suspected shooter, 20-year-old nursing home aide Thomas Crooks, was killed by law enforcement. His motive remains unclear.

Lawmakers are angry, saying the suspect got within range of Trump on the rooftop of a nearby building due to security lapses. The House Judiciary Committee stated last week that the Secret Service was under-resourced for Trump’s rally due to staffing shortages created by a rival campaign event in Pittsburgh with Jill Biden and a NATO summit held days earlier in Washington.

Cheatle told lawmakers that her agency protects 36 individuals daily, as well as visiting world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to address a joint session of Congress this week.

President Joe Biden on Sunday ended his reelection bid, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the candidate. He vowed to serve through the end of his term on January 20, 2025.