The director of the secret service, criticized since the attack on Trump, resigns

Photo: Kent Nishimura Getty Images via AFP Secret Service boss Kimberly Cheatle testifies Monday before the House Oversight Committee

Inès Bel Aiba – Agence France-Presse in Washington

Posted at 10:48 a.m. Updated at 12:05 p.m.

• United States

The director of the American secret services, under fire from criticism since the assassination attempt against Donald Trump on July 13, resigned on Tuesday, the day after a tense parliamentary hearing during which she admitted a failure.< /p>

Kimberly Cheatle, the boss of this elite service responsible for the protection of high-ranking American personalities, has been the subject of numerous calls to resign since the shots which slightly injured the Republican candidate , from elected Republicans and Democrats alike.

The Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, immediately welcomed his resignation. “It’s long overdue, she should have done it at least a week ago,” he told the press. “I am pleased to see that she has heard the calls of Republicans and Democrats. »

“We must now pick up the pieces, rebuild the American people's trust in the secret services,” he concluded.

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In a statement, the Democratic president, Joe Biden expressed his gratitude to Ms. Cheatle “for her decades of service”.

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“Throughout her career in the Secret Service, she devoted herself tirelessly and risked her life to protect our nation,” he added.

The president, however, wanted to mention the independent investigation which must review the events of July 13 and determine how a shooter could have found himself so close to Donald Trump.

< p>“I look forward to evaluating his findings,” Mr. Biden said, adding that he planned to appoint a new director “soon.” “We all know that what happened that day must never happen again. »

“In the name of democracy”

During a hearing before the Congress on Monday, Kimberly Cheatle admitted failings.

“The solemn mission of the Secret Service is to protect the leaders of our nation […]. On July 13, we failed,” she said.

“As director, I take full responsibility for any security breach,” she added, calling the events of July 13 “the most significant operational failure of the secret services in decades”.

But she dismissed calls for her resignation: “I think I am the best person to lead the secret services at the moment,” she said.

Ms. Cheatle also refused to answer numerous specific questions from parliamentarians about the attack, arguing that several investigations were underway.

Donald Trump, 78, was injured in the ear during the shooting. Photos of him with blood streaming down his face and his fist raised went around the world. One spectator was killed and two others seriously injured.

The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot dead by the Secret Service.

The Biden administration “failed to protect me properly, and I was forced to take a bullet in the name of democracy,” Donald Trump reacted Tuesday on his Truth Social platform.