Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle said during an interview this week that she will not resign after her agency failed to stop an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump over the weekend.
Cheatle told ABC News said that she was shocked and concerned after the 20-year-old would-be assassin was able to climb onto a nearby roof and shoot during as he spoke at a rally.
“This is an event that should have never happened,” she said, adding that “the Secret Service is responsible for protection of the former president.”
“The buck stops with me, I am the director of the Secret Service,” she said. “It was unacceptable and it shouldn’t happen again.”
She claimed that she would be transparent and, when asked if she was planning to stay on amid calls to resign, she responded: “I do plan to stay on.”
WATCH:
U.S. Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle says that she will not resign after Secret Service failed to stop an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/yIaDD38cum
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) July 16, 2024
Cheatle will testify next week before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee on the attempted assassination, the panel announced on Monday.
Scheduled to take place on Capitol Hill at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, the public hearing will give lawmakers and the American people a chance to hear first-hand about the attack that took place at Trump’s campaign rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
“The Secret Service has a no-fail mission, yet it failed on Saturday when a madman attempted to assassinate President Trump, killed an innocent victim, and harmed others,” Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said in a post to X, adding that his panel will “get answers.”
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.
