Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified on Monday before a congressional committee over security failures at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, where a 20-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump. Follow here for the live updates:
Republican, Democrat Leaders Say Cheatle Should Resign
The chairman and ranking member of the House Oversight Committee called on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign in a rare bipartisan joint statement on Monday, following hours of questioning the agency director.
In a letter to Ms. Cheatle, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said she “failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure” during hours of questioning.
“In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing,” the two wrote.
“We call on you to resign as Director as a first step to allowing new leadership to swiftly address this crisis and rebuild the trust of a truly concerned Congress and the American people.”
Former Sniper Rep. Crane Raises Questions at Rally Site
After touring the site where former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated, Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) said “many questions still remain” as to how the shooter was not stopped before he opened fire.
“I’m on the roof of the building in Butler, PA where shots were fired in an attempt to assassinate President Trump,” Mr. Crane wrote in an X post.
“As a former Navy SEAL sniper, it was clear to me that many security measures were dropped making Pres. Trump extremely vulnerable.”
In an accompanying video, the congressman pointed out a nearby water tower, where Secret Service agents would have had a clear line of sight to the gunman had they been stationed there. He also questioned why the agents positioned within the building the shooter climbed onto were unable to quickly dispatch him from the windows through which they initially spotted him.
Secret Service Director Says She Apologized to Trump After His Assassination Attempt
Speaking during the congressional hearing, Ms. Cheatle said she apologized to former President Trump in a phone call after the rally in Pennsylvania.
Secret Service Investigation Estimated to Take 60 Days
The final report of an internal Secret Service investigation into the assassination attempt and how the service handled the matter is slated to take 60 days, Ms. Cheatle told the House Committee members.
Ms. Cheatle said that the agency is still conducting interviews as she declined to tell Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) her personal analysis of what went wrong at the Pennsylvania rally.
Lawmakers criticized the proposed two-month timeframe of the investigation.
Cheatle Rebuffs Bipartisan Calls to Resign
Ms. Cheatle repeated several times during the hearing that she would not be stepping down.
“I think I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time,” she said at one point.
When questioned later on whether she believed the majority of Americans have confidence in her leadership, Ms. Cheatle said “I believe that the country deserves answers, and I am committed to finding those answers, and providing those answers.”
Democrats Focus on Gun Control
Several Democrats on the Oversight Committee focused their questioning of Ms. Cheatle on highlighting their preference for stricter gun laws.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the committee’s top Democrat, noted that former President Donald Trump’s shooter was identified by the serial number of his AR-15 thanks to a controversial tracing system that gun rights activists oppose.
Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), meanwhile, lamented that Republican lawmakers have sought to block and repeal strict federal gun laws, including bans on semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines. Referencing the 2025 appropriations bill for the federal government, Ms. Norton noted that the bill would allow anyone with a state-issued permit to carry a concealed firearm in Washington as well.
Shooter Had Rangefinder: Cheatle
Ms. Cheatle testified that the man who shot former President Trump had a rangefinder with him. “Yes, he did,” Ms. Cheatle told Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.).
She said that at a number of sites protected by the Secret Service, particularly outdoor venues, rangefinders are not prohibited. “It is sometimes an item brought in by individuals who are going to be in the back of [the crowd],” she said.
It was not yet clear whether any Secret Service agents confronted the shooter after learning he had a rangefinder, the director said.
Ms. Cheatle also said the gunman was identified as a suspicious person before former President Trump took the stage.
The former president was allowed to take the stage because there’s a difference between a suspicious person and a threat, Ms. Cheatle told Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
Cheatle Doesn’t Confirm Whether Secret Service Had Anyone on Roof
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) kicked off his line of questioning by asking Ms. Cheatle if any Secret Service agents were stationed on the roof the shooter was positioned on.
Referencing the ongoing investigation, Ms. Cheatle did not answer the question. She also declined to say how many agents were assigned to former President Trump for the event, but did note that she thought it was “a sufficient number.”
She would not say whether the Secret Service deployed drones to secure the event.
The Federal Aviation Administration told The Epoch Times that the Secret Service did not request to use drones that day.
Secret Service Director Admits ‘Significant Operational Failure’ in Trump Assassination Attempt
The director of the U.S. Secret Service told a House panel on Monday that her agency failed during the assassination attempt targeting former President Donald Trump.
“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed. As the Director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse,” Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told the House Oversight Committee in prepared remarks after she was subpoenaed, adding that the shooting was the “most significant operational failure in decades.”
During the July 13 incident at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a gunman fired at the former president, striking him in the right ear as well as killing one person and wounding two others.
“We must learn what happened and I will move heaven and earth to ensure an incident like July 13 does not happen again. Thinking about what we should have done differently is never far from my thoughts,” Ms. Cheatle said.
Her appearance before the panel occurred as numerous Republican lawmakers and at least one Democrat congressman have demanded that she resign from her position, saying that her agency did not do enough to provide security to the former president. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) were among those who called on Ms. Cheatle to step down.
The House Oversight panel’s chairman, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), said Monday that the Secret Service underperformed in its “zero-fail mission,” saying there are suggestions that the agency “lacks the proper management,” while he also chided it for what he described as a lack of transparency. Instead of providing statements to the public, the Secret Service is delivering information through “whistleblowers” and “leaks” to the media, he said.
“It is my firm belief that … you should resign,” Mr. Comer told the agency director at the start of the hearing on Monday morning. “I urge Director Cheatle to be transparent in her testimony today,” he added.
Ms. Cheatle told ABC News in an interview last week that the shooting was “unacceptable,” stressing that her agency will cooperate with investigations and reviews into the near-assassination.
“I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary,” she told the network.
The attack on former President Trump was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
President Joe Biden has ordered an independent investigation. The Homeland Security Department and a bipartisan independent panel have said they are also investigating the matter.
On Sunday evening, Ms. Cheatle said in a statement that she would cooperate with the independent review carried out by a so-called “Blue Ribbon Panel.”
“I look forward to the panel examining what happened and providing recommendations to help ensure it will never happen again,” the director said.
Hearing Kicks Off With Speaker Johnson Present
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was in attendance as the first Oversight Committee hearing to investigate the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump began.
Secret Service Director Cheatle testified on the failings that allowed a would-be assassin to fire off several shots at a Pennsylvania rally, killing one attendee and injuring several others, including the former president.
Ahead of the hearing, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) revealed via social media that Ms. Cheatle did not provide the committee with her written testimony, as is customary. The congresswoman also noted that the director failed to provide audio recordings from the July 13 shooting and the names of those on the former president’s Secret Service detail—despite the committee’s requests for those materials.
Secret Service Director Testifies on Trump Assassination Attempt
The Secret Service director testified Monday before a congressional committee over security failures at a rally where a 20-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
The House Oversight Committee hearing was Kimberly Cheatle’s first appearance before lawmakers since the July 13 Pennsylvania rally shooting that left one spectator dead. Former President Trump was wounded in the ear and two other attendees were injured after Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed atop the roof of a nearby building and opened fire.
Lawmakers have been expressing anger over how the gunman could have gotten so close to the Republican presidential nominee when he was supposed to be carefully guarded. The Secret Service has acknowledged it denied some requests by Trump’s campaign for increased security at his events in the years before the assassination attempt.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has called what happened a “failure,” while several lawmakers called on Ms. Cheatle to resign or for President Joe Biden to fire her.
The attack on former President Trump was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
Authorities have been hunting for clues into what motivated Mr. Crooks, but so far have not found any ideological bent that could help explain his actions. Investigators who searched his phone found photos of former President Trump, President Biden, and other senior government officials, and also found that he had looked up the dates for the Democratic National Convention as well as former President Trump’s public appearances. He also searched for information about major depressive order.
Epoch Times reporters Samantha Flom, Zachary Stieber, Jack Phillips, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.