Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify Monday about Trump shooting
Washington — U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will testify to the House Oversight Committee on Monday amid calls for her resignation or firing in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
"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," GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the committee's chairman, said in a statement confirming the hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. ET.
Comer said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday" that the hearing "will serve as the beginning of that process to get answers for the American people as to what went wrong with with an agency that has a no-fail mission."
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency is "committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after" the shooting "to ensure it never happens again."
The Republican-led committee and Secret Service had been in a back-and-forth all week about a potential date for Cheatle to testify, which culminated in Comer subpoenaing the director to appear before lawmakers on Monday, July 22.
In response, the agency said Cheatle welcomed the opportunity to testify, but asked that the date be pushed back to later in the week or the following week.
Comer and the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, declined the request, saying in a rare joint statement that she "must appear before the House Oversight Committee without delay on Monday."
The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general announced Wednesday it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the attempted assassination, and other congressional Republicans have also vowed to launch their own inquiries.
On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray will testify to the House Judiciary Committee about the bureau's investigation into the incident.
–Ellis Kim, Andres Triay and Nicole Sganga contributed reporting.
