Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Penn., is calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign following an assassination attempt against former President Trump at a campaign rally last weekend in Pennsylvania.
Boyle is the first Congressional Democrat to urge Cheatle to step down.
“I am calling on Director Cheatle to resign immediately following last weekend’s shooting of a Presidential candidate in Western Pennsylvania,” Boyle said in a statement on Saturday.
“The evidence coming to light has shown unacceptable operational failures,” he continued. “I have no confidence in the leadership of the United States Secret Service if Director Cheatle chooses to remain in her position.”
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Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, when gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from the top of a building. One rally spectator was killed shielding his wife and daughter from the gunfire, while several others were injured, including Trump, who suffered injuries to his ear.
The Secret Service has faced intense criticism in the aftermath of the shooting over concerns about how Crooks was able to gain access to the rooftop that had a line of sight to Trump as he was speaking at the rally.
Several Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, have called for new leadership at the Secret Service following the shooting.
“Last week’s near-assassination of former President Trump was a grave attack on American democracy,” McConnell wrote Wednesday on the social media platform X. “The nation deserves answers and accountability. New leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction.”
But Cheatle said she has no plans of stepping down from her position.
“I do plan to stay on,” she told ABC News.
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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he has “100% confidence” in the Secret Service after the shooting. The Secret Service operates under DHS.
President Biden directed an independent review of security at the rally. Cheatle said in a statement last week that the Secret Service will cooperate in the independent review and work with Congress on any oversight action.
Republican lawmakers have vowed to conduct congressional investigations into the shooting, and Cheatle is expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday.
“Americans demand answers from Director Kimberly Cheatle about the Secret Service’s historic security failures that led to the attempted assassination of President Trump, murder of an innocent victim, and harm to others in the crowd,” Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement. “We look forward to Director Cheatle’s testimony on Monday, July 22 to deliver the transparency and accountability that Americans deserve.”
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