Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle infuriated lawmakers Monday when she awkwardly dodged questions from Congress trying to explain how a 20-year-old woman could shoot Donald Trump.
Thomas Crooks, 20, climbed onto the roof of a building about 150 yards from the stage of a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 before opening fire, shooting the former president and others, leaving one dead.
The tragedy has put Cheatle in an awkward position, as he questions how such a major oversight, which led to the near-death of a former president and current presidential candidate, could have occurred under his watch.
On Monday morning, Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee that his agency is still actively investigating the attempted assassination of Trump that occurred nine days ago and therefore cannot answer many questions.
This earned her the scorn of Republicans and Democrats alike, who bombarded her with calls for her to resign and reveal more about the agency’s historic failure.
But she dragged her feet, providing only a few additional details about the shooting as she received a stinging rebuke from lawmakers.
One lawmaker became so angry that she even insulted the director of the Secret Service.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle sat for hours before the House Oversight Committee on Monday to testify about the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. As Democrats and Republicans alike crowded around her, they grew frustrated, sometimes shouting, in response to her vague and incomplete answers.
“You’re talking nonsense today,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., yelled at Cheatle when the Secret Service chief was unsure whether the agency had provided evidence to the committee. “You’re being completely dishonest.”
The South Carolina Republican also criticized Cheatle for failing to provide his opening statements before the hearing, even though they were published in several media outlets hours before he testified.
The director said, “I have no idea how my statement came out,” to which Mace sternly replied, “That’s nonsense.”
But Cheatle was not the only one who received shouts from Republicans.
“You can’t run a Secret Service agency when there’s an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate!” an incredulous California Democrat, Rep. Ro Khanna, told Cheatle during his questioning.
“I think, Director Cheatle, that you should resign. I think there are colleagues in both parties who feel the same way and I hope you will consider that.”
During the interaction, Cheatle silently fiddled with a writing utensil, maintaining a somber expression, occasionally looking down and then up at the lawmaker addressing her.
She repeatedly avoided answering questions, citing that “we are only nine days into this incident and there is still an ongoing investigation.”
Perhaps most disappointing to lawmakers was Cheatle’s response to the question of how long the American people should wait for answers about the attempted assassination of Trump.
He said the agency hopes to have answers for lawmakers within “60 days.”
The response was so horrendous that it brought together two lawmakers with nearly opposite ideologies — the squad leader, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and conservative firebrand Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. — in a rare agreement.
They called the 60-day waiting period unacceptable.
“They’re not making it easy for us,” said an exasperated Rep. Shontel Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, after Cheatle refused to release figures related to the investigation.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., raged and insulted Secret Service Director Cheatle during the hearing for failing to provide the committee with an advance copy of her opening statement.
‘You’re being dishonest or lying… you’re just evading and speaking generalities.’
