U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle admitted Monday that she had not been to the site of the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, despite nine days having passed since the incident.
The Secret Service has been widely criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for failing to prevent a gunman from shooting at and injuring Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Cheatle appeared before the House Oversight Committee on Monday to take questions from lawmakers on the Secret Service’s security failures surrounding the rally but said she had not visited Butler following the attack and did speak to the Secret Service agents who protected Trump until the day after the assassination attempt. (RELATED: DHS Defends Women In Law Enforcement Ahead Of Hearing On Trump Rally’s Security Failures)
“Nine days, and you have not visited the site?” Republican Texas Rep. Pat Fallon asked Cheatle. “You should have been there that night. That evening, did you talk to the team — the heroes that surrounded the president that night?
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Cheatle responded that the agents tasked with protecting the president at the rally on July 13 were still “operational” before she was cut off by Fallon.
“So that answer is no. Did you call them the next day? Did you call them the very next day? Not the day of. Or was it 72 hours after?” Fallon asked.
“I don’t know the timeline, but I spoke with them immediately following,” Cheatle responded.
Fallon told Cheatle that he believed it was 72 hours before Cheatle called the relevant Secret Service agents.
“I believe your horrifying ineptitude and your lack of leadership is a disgrace. Your obfuscating today is shameful, and you should be fired immediately,” Fallon scolded Cheatle.
Cheatle was scrutinized in the hearing by lawmakers for the Secret Service’s failure to ensure security at the July 13 Trump rally. A lone gunman located only hundreds of feet from the event was able to climb onto the roof of a nearby building and fire on Trump and rally attendees, injuring the former president and others and killing one attendee.
Calls for Cheatle to resign from her post have increased since the assassination attempt against Trump and the Secret Service’s security failure on July 13. Cheatle told the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday that she would not resign.
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