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The embattled head of the Secret Service said she took full responsibility for security lapses around the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump during a combative congressional hearing where some lawmakers called for her to resign.<\/p>\n
From the outset, Republican lawmakers were hostile to Kimberly Cheatle as she sought to make a case for remaining on the job. Several members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability jeered when she said she couldn\u2019t discuss some specifics about the events of July 13.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally has created a crisis for the Secret Service, the primary agency assigned to protect US political leaders and other high-profile officials. A shooter accessed a nearby roof with a clear line of sight to Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Secret Service\u2019s solemn mission is to protect our nation\u2019s leaders,\u201d Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the agency, told lawmakers on Monday. \u201cOn July 13th, we failed.\u201d<\/p>\n
US officials have said 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed up on a roof within sight of the outdoor stage at Butler, Pennsylvania, and fired an AR-556 style rifle, injuring Trump, killing an attendee and wounding two others. A Secret Service sharpshooter then killed Crooks.<\/p>\n
The agency faces tough questions about how the shooter reached the rooftop, why the rally proceeded after the suspect was earlier identified as suspicious, and whether the Secret Service has adequately guarded Trump. On Monday, Cheatle endured her toughest grilling yet since the shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019ve answered one question from the chairman, the ranking member, or me,\u201d Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said early in the hearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmericans demand accountability, but no one has yet to be fired for this historic failure,\u201d James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the panel, said in prepared remarks.<\/p>\n
Cheatle spent more than 25 years at the Secret Service before becoming senior director of global security for PepsiCo<\/a>. President Joe Biden named her Secret Service director in 2022.<\/p>\n Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday launched an independent review led by former officials from Democratic and Republican administrations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n