Washington: The Secret Service director, Kimberly A. Cheatle, angered members of Congress on Monday by repeatedly refusing to answer specific questions about security failures that led to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, prompting members of both parties to demand her resignation.
Cheatle, appearing before the House oversight committee, called the shooting at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, her agency’s “most significant operational failure” in decades. But she cited the continuing investigation when declining to answer queries about the would-be assassin’s access to the warehouse roof from which he fired, how he had managed to bring a firearm to the event, why Trump was allowed to come onstage despite warnings about a suspicious person, and many other details.
A spectator at the Trump campaign rally was killed, and the former president and two attendees were injured in the July 13 shooting. In the days since, congressional committees have been investigating missteps by law enforcement before, during and after the attack.
“Because Donald Trump is alive, and thank God he is, you look incompetent,” said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, calling for President Joe Biden to fire Cheatle if she did not resign. “If Donald Trump had been killed, you would have looked culpable.”
Here’s what else to know:
Pressure to resign: Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., joined many of his Republican colleagues in pushing for Cheatle to step down, while James R. Comer, R-Ky., the chair of the oversight committee, said her agency had become the “face of incompetence.” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, one of Trump’s closest allies, accused the Secret Service of “cutting corners.”
Rebuffed requests: The Secret Service acknowledged on Saturday that it had turned down requests for additional federal resources sought by Trump’s security detail in the two years leading up to the attempted assassination. “For the event in Butler, there were no requests that were denied,” Cheatle told Congress.
Breakdown in protection: The Secret Service faces questions over why the warehouse used by the shooter to fire at Trump was not included in the security perimeter zone. Also unclear is why the agency did not assign more local law enforcement officers to work outside the perimeter.
Homeland Security review: The homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, on Sunday announced the members of a panel that will conduct an independent 45-day review of the security breakdown at the Trump rally. The Secret Service is a part of the department. Biden had called for an independent investigation.