Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the U.S. Secret Service, resigned on Tuesday, one day after her testimony before Congress about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas soon after said he was appointing Ronald Rowe, the service’s deputy director, to serve as acting director. Ms. Cheatle, who was sworn in as director in 2022, had previously rebuffed bipartisan calls to resign in the wake of the assassination attempt against the former president.
“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in the email to Secret Service staff. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
Democrats and Republicans took issue with Ms. Cheatle during the hearing on Monday, both for the failures at the Trump rally on July 13 and her sidestepping questions about the basic facts about the shooting which wounded former President Trump, killed one rally attendee, and injured two others.
