US Secret Service director admits Trump shooting an ‘operational failure’ | Donald Trump News

Kimberly Cheatle says the incident is ‘the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades’.

The US Secret Service chief 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 failed. As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse,” Director Kimberly Cheatle, who faces Republican calls for her removal, said on Monday in testimony before the Oversight Committee of the House of Representatives.

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

The shooting at an outdoor campaign rally wounded Trump in the ear, killed one rally attendee and injured two others.

The suspected shooter, 20-year-old nursing home aide Thomas Crooks, was killed by law enforcement. The motive for the shooting is not clear.

Cheatle said Crooks had been identified as “suspicious” before Trump took the stage but had not been deemed to be a “threat”.

In the face of Republican accusations that the Secret Service, the agency responsible for protecting current and former presidents, has denied resources to protect Trump, she said security for the former president had grown before 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 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 attempted assassination.

On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray will appear before the House Judiciary Committee.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is also due to unveil a bipartisan task force to serve as a nexus point for 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,” the Kentucky Republican told her.

“The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a significant budget. But it has now become the face of incompetence.”

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