Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faces calls to resign after Trump shooting

Growing pressure is on the US Secret Service, as a closed-door briefing hints that Congress will launch a sweeping investigation into the shooting of Donald Trump.

Under growing pressure for a massive security failure, the US Secret Service vowed to cooperate with an independent review after a would-be assassin was able to open fire on presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

The 78-year-old was left bloodied but unbowed at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, after a brazen attack that shocked the world.

Now, Politico reports that Congress is quickly ramping up a broad, multi-committee investigation into the assassination attempt with intense scrutiny focused on the Secret Service.

House Oversight Committee members will get a briefing with the agency on Tuesday.

“The Secret Service is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again,” the agency’s director Kimberly Cheatle said in a statement.

“We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday and will participate fully. We will also work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action,” Ms Cheatle added.

Mr Biden has ordered a full review of security at the rally, as well as at this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Mr Trump will be crowned the party’s presidential nominee.

United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle looks on during a press conference at the Secret Service’s Chicago Field Office. Picture: AFP

In addition to the briefing, Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) invited Ms Cheatle to testify publicly before his panel on July 22, and she is expected to appear.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is also running its own probe into the shooting.

Speaker Mike Johnson, in a social media post over the weekend, vowed the House would conduct a “full investigation.”

The Secret Service has been under growing pressure over how a gunman aiming an assault rifle was allowed to take position on a roof just 150 metres from one of the most controversial political figures on the planet.

And the questions grew louder when phone footage emerged of people sighting the gunman on the roof and trying to warn security before he opened fire.

With Mr Trump set to appear at the convention on Monday, Ms Cheatle said the agency was working to toughen security at the event.

The Secret Service “designs operational security plans for National Special Security Events (NSSE) to be dynamic in order to respond to a kinetic security environment and the most up-to-date intelligence from our partners,” her statement said.

The Secret Service said it was “fully prepared” for the convention

‘GUARDING CHEETOS’: MUSK SLAMS SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR

The US Secret Service chief faces calls to resign, after being accused of being more focused on “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies than on security.

Her biography shows she worked as head of global security of food and beverage company PepsiCo, which caused the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, to fume on X: “So before being in charge of protecting the President, she was guarding bags of Cheetos …”. The tweet quickly garnered over 30,000 likes.

So before being in charge of protecting the President, she was guarding bags of Cheetos …

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2024

Director Cheatle first joined the US Secret Service in 1995 and was a member of the then Vice President Joe Biden’s protective detail during President Barack Obama’s administration.

After Mr Trump was elected president, Ms Cheatle became the agency’s deputy assistant director for training and later assistant director for protective operations.

She retired in 2019 and worked as PepsiCo senior director of global security for a brief period and in 2021 was awarded a Presidential Rank Award for previous exceptional government service.

Mr Biden brought her back to the Secret Service in 2022, making her only the second woman in history to ever lead the agency.

It was at a time the agency was facing heavy criticism for the security failure over the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Now critics say since her appointment in September 2022, she has been more focused on diversity policies – including having 30 per cent women in the agency by 2030 – than security.

They have latched onto an interview given last year where she said she was focused on attracting more diversity into her ranks, particularly women.

US Republican candidate Donald Trump being taken off the stage after the shooting at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show. Picture: AFP

Chairman of Congress’ homeland security committee Mark E. Green is demanding answers.

“The seriousness of this security failure and chilling moment in our nation’s history cannot be understated,” the congressman wrote.

He said there were serious questions about how the shooter was able to access a rooftop “within range and direct line of sight” of where Mr Trump was speaking.

The Secret Service described claims there had been extra resourcing calls ahead of the Pennsylvania shooting incident as “absolutely false”.

“The former President, and the current President, are commonly subject to threats,”

Secret Service communications chief Anthony Guglielmi said in a written statement.

“The US Secret Service takes threats seriously, and it takes actions based on those threats as warranted. The US Secret Service is constantly evaluating the very dynamic threat environment and responding to it in the fulfilment of its responsibilities.”

In its press conference ahead of the Republican National Conference which runs for the next four days, US Secret Service co-ordinator for the event Audrey Gibson-Cicchino dodged questions on the Trump attack and said a comprehensive security plan that had already been 18 months in the making would be unchanged.

When asked if Mr Trump, his family or anyone attending the convention could have confidence they would be safe, Ms Gibson-Cicchino said she was confident in her security plans and the Secret Service had all the resources it needed.

“This event has been designated a special national security event which is the highest level of security for an event that can be designated by the government …,” she said.

TOTAL SECURITY BREAKDOWN

Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker said the assassination attempt exposed failures.

“It was a total security breakdown from start to finish,” Mr Swecker told the New York Post.

Richard Painter, a White House official under George W. Bush and now a law professor at the University of Minnesota, called for “a detailed investigation into this egregious security failure.”

“If there is a rooftop within rifle range of a president or a presidential candidate, it’s the Secret Service that should be on that rooftop. Have they ever heard of the Texas Book Depository?” he said, referring to the building from where Lee Harvey Oswald murdered President John F. Kennedy used a long-range rifle in 1963.