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The director of the US Secret Service announced Tuesday she is stepping down following this month’s assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
According to the Associated Press, Kimberly Cheatle said in an email to staff that she took “full responsibility” for the security breakdown leading to the shooting that left a rally attendee dead and Trump wounded in the ear. Cheatle was appointed Secret Service director in 2022.
Cheatle’s resignation comes a day after she testified before Congress about the July 13 shooting — specifically lapses that may have played a role in the incident.
READ: Secret Service Director Says Agency Was Warned Several Times About a Suspicious Person on Roof at Trump Rally
During her testimony, Cheatle revealed that the Secret Service was alerted to a potential vulnerability on the roof at the venue in Butler days before suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, allegedly opened fire from that location. Crooks reportedly fired from a roof 130 yards from where Trump spoke before he was fatally shot in the head by a Secret Service agent.
Officials said Secret Service snipers had spotted Crooks on the roof 20 minutes before he opened fire.
Cheatle testified that she had called Trump and apologized following the shooting.
She told Congress, “The assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13th is the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades. As the Director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse.”
