Washington — Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is testifying Monday before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the security failures that allowed a 20-year-old gunman to open fire on former President Donald Trump and a crowd of his supporters at a rally more than a week ago.
Cheatle has come under significant pressure to resign in the aftermath of the assassination attempt, in which Trump and two others were injured and one rally attendee was killed.
The FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks as the shooter, and he was killed by a Secret Service sniper. Lawmakers have questioned how Crooks was able to gain access to a rooftop so close to where Trump was speaking at the campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told Cheatle directly that she should resign, saying that with her at the helm of the Secret Service, it is questionable whether the president, first lady, White House and presidential candidates are safe.
"The Secret Service has a zero fail mission, but it failed on July 13 and in the days leading up to the rally," Comer said in his opening statement. "The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a significant budget, but it has now become the face of incompetence."
Cheatle, who has resisted calls to step down, told committee members that the Secret Service failed in its mission to protect the nation's leaders on July 13 and said she takes full responsibility for any security lapses.
"We must learn what happened and I will move heaven and earth to ensure an incident like July 13th does not happen again," she said in her opening remarks. "Thinking about what we should have done differently is never far from my thoughts."
Here's the latest from the hearing:
Nancy Mace: "You're full of s--t today"
Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, devoted her time to a series of yes-or-no questions and quickly grew frustrated as Cheatle repeatedly declined to answer accordingly. Mace objected to the Secret Service's failure to comply with demands for documents and other information from the committee.
"On July 15, this committee sent you a list of demands of information that we wanted," Mace said. "Has the Secret Service provided this committee a complete list of all law enforcement personnel that were there that day? Have you done that? Have you provided a list to the Oversight Committee?"
"I'd have to get back to you on that," Cheatle answered.
"That is a no. Have you provided all audio and video recordings in your possession to this committee, as we asked on July 15?" Mace asked.
"I'd have to get back to you on that," Cheatle repeated.
"That is a no. You're full of s--t today. You're just being completely dishonest," Mace said, her voice rising. The comment prompted another lawmaker to urge Mace to "preserve decorum."
Mace continued: "You are being dishonest or lying. You're being dishonest here with this committee, these are important questions that the American people want answers to, and you're just dodging and talking about it in generalities. We had to subpoena you to be here, and you won't even answer the questions. We've asked you repeatedly to answer our questions. This isn't hard."
Cheatle lays out steps the Secret Service has taken since assassination attempt
The Secret Service chief said that following the assassination attempt, the agency made adjustments to the inside of the perimeter at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last week and to the security posture for protectees in the Washington, D.C., area.
She said on the heels of Mr. Biden's decision to end his campaign for reelection Sunday, the Secret Service also made adjustments to Harris' detail and is prepared for an eventual Democratic vice presidential nominee. Harris has said she is seeking the party's presidential nomination.
"It just shows how dynamic the environment is that this agency works in every day," Cheatle said.
Cheatle says teams were dispatched to interview Crooks after he was identified as suspicious
In an exchange with Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican, Cheatle revealed that law enforcement teams were sent to identify and interview Crooks after he was deemed suspicious. She did not provide any additional details, including when the team was sent to make contact with him.
"At a number of our protected sites, there are suspicious individuals that are identified all the time," she said. "It doesn't necessarily mean that they constitute a threat."
Cheatle says internal investigation will take 60 days, which Ocasio-Cortez calls "unacceptable"
Cheatle told Oversight Committee members that she expects the Secret Service's internal investigation into the assassination attempt to be done in 60 days.
That timeline was swiftly criticized by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who called it "unacceptable."
"This is not theater. This is not about jockeying. This is about the safety of some of the most highly targeted and valued targets internationally and domestically in the United States of America," she said. "The idea that a report will be finalized in 60 days, let alone prior to any actionable decisions that would be made, is simply not acceptable."
Cheatle, toward the end of the line of questioning, told Ocasio-Cortez: "I want to assure you and everyone on this committee that I'm not waiting for a report to take action. We have been conducting analysis all along and we have been adding additional features to our security details since this incident occurred."
Frustration with Cheatle crosses party lines
The Oversight Committee includes some of Trump's most vocal defenders on Capitol Hill, but it's not just his supporters who are exasperated with Cheatle's answers.
Democrats like Khanna and Connolly have shown frustration with the Secret Service chief as well. GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said Cheatle hadn't answered a single question from Comer, Raskin or himself.
"How long do we have to wait before you can give us credible answers?" Republican Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas said. "You've been there 28 years. You've had a few days to build and draw your own analysis of this. You should understand the entire process."
Sessions later grew angry, demanding Cheatle to tell lawmakers what went wrong at the rally.
"Don't try and play a shell game with us," he said. "Do you have the ability to effectively, as the director of this agency, to understand what went wrong?"
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna: "You need to resign"
Khanna, a California Democrat, raised the attempted assassination of former President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and the response by the head of the Secret Service at the time, Stuart Knight.
"I just don't think this is partisan. If you have an assassination attempt on a president, a former president, or a candidate, you need to resign," he said. "That's what Stuart Knight did. He was a Republican appointee."
Khanna said he hopes Cheatle will consider leaving her post at the agency.
"You cannot go leading a Secret Service agency when there is an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate," he said. "I would say that about anyone."
Cheatle bats down conspiracy theories about shooting
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, asked Cheatle to address some conspiracy theories that have emerged in the wake of the attack. She told him that the shooting was not staged, it was not a conspiracy by high-ranking government officials and it was not perpetrated by a foreign state or entity.
Cheatle also indicated that the Secret Service did not believe there was a threat to Trump that would've led them to pause the rally.
Agents would "never bring the former president out if there was a threat that had been identified," she said.
Cheatle said she did not personally review the security plan for Trump's rally, but there are multiple people who look at and sign off on them.
"If we determine through the course of our investigation that someone or people need to be held accountable, we will do so," she said.
Democrat Gerry Connolly gets exasperated asking Cheatle about the ubiquity of guns
Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia grew frustrated as he questioned Cheatle about how the Secret Service's job is impacted by guns in the hands of members of the public.
"Does the ubiquity of guns make your job easier or more difficult today?" he asked Cheatle repeatedly.
The Secret Service chief declined to directly answer Connolly's question, saying instead she understands that the American people have a Second Amendment right to bear arms. Her response angered Connolly further.
"You're not making my job easier in assessing your qualifications in continuing on as director," he said. "Please answer the question."
Connolly also accused Cheatle of giving an evasive answer to his question, which he said is "not a hard one."
"We almost lost a presidential candidate the other day," he said, noting that the gunman was able to access his father's rifle and get close to Trump.
Connolly continued: "You're not willing to answer that question and you wonder why we might have a lack of confidence in your continued ability to direct this agency."
Cheatle eventually conceded that "it's the environment that the Secret Service works in every day."
Cheatle cites FBI investigation in declining to discuss specifics about gunman
Cheatle has pointed to the FBI's ongoing criminal investigation several times in declining to discuss the specifics of the gunman's actions in the lead-up to the shooting.
Under questioning from GOP Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Cheatle demurred when asked about how the gunman got onto the roof and other details about his actions.
"I'm unable to answer details of exactly how the individual accessed the roof at this time," she said. "I'd like to be able to answer those questions. The FBI is still conducting an investigation.
Cheatle: "I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time"
Cheatle defended her job performance at the helm of the Secret Service and said she believes she was selected for the role by Mr. Biden because of her 27 years of experience working for the agency.
"I think that I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time," she told Rep. Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican.
Cheatle has faced calls to resign in the wake of the attack on Trump.
Cheatle faces questions over Iranian threat to Trump
Rep. Mike Turner, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, focused his questions on an Iranian plot against Trump that was detected by U.S. intelligence. There were no ties between the assassination attempt and any foreign or domestic accomplice.
Cheatle told Turner she read intelligence of the generalized threat to Trump by Iran and was briefed on the specific plot by the Iranians. Asked by Turner whether she believes the protection plan was sufficient to protect Trump, Cheatle said she believes it was.
Still, she acknowledged that there were "gaps and a failure that day," which allowed Crooks to have access to the rooftop.
Cheatle says she's spoken with the counter-sniper who killed the gunman
In response to questions from GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Cheatle said he has briefed Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris about the attempted assassination, and also spoke to the Secret Service counter-sniper who killed Crooks.
The Secret Service chief did not reveal any details about her conversation with the sniper. She said she has not spoken with first lady Jill Biden or White House communications staff.
Cheatle says there was a "sufficient number" of Secret Service agents assigned to Trump rally
Cheatle told Comer during his round of questioning that there were a "sufficient number" of agents who were assigned to protect Trump at the Butler rally on July 13.
"The agents that were assigned to former President Trump are Secret Service agents that provide close protection to him and that is what was actual on that day," she said.
Cheatle also said that the assets requested for the July 13 rally in Butler were given, and for the event, "there were no requests that were denied."
"There are a number of ways that threats and risks can be mitigated with a number of different assets, whether that be through personnel or technology or other resources," she said.
Cheatle confirmed that Crooks, the gunman, was identified as suspicious, but noted that if Trump's detail had been informed that there was a threat, agents would not have allowed the former president to go out on stage.
"That is what we do and that is who we are," she said.
Those identified as suspicious have to be investigated, Cheatle said. She also told lawmakers that the FBI informed the Secret Service that Crooks flew a drone near the rally site before the event.
"I accept responsibility for this tragedy," she said. "We are going to look into how this happened and we are going to take corrective action to ensure that it never happens again."
Cheatle sworn in, calls assassination attempt the "most significant failure" at the Secret Service in decades
Comer swore in Cheatle following remarks from him and Raskin, and Cheatle began her opening statement.
"The assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13 is the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades and I am keeping him and his family in my thoughts," she said of the former president.
Cheatle said that nothing she has said should be interpreted to blame the security failure at the Trump rally on federal, state and local law enforcement who worked with the Secret Service in Butler. She also pledged to cooperate with congressional oversight, the FBI's investigation and the Homeland Security Department's external review and examination by its internal watchdog.
Cheatle said the level of security for Trump increased "well before" the campaign and has been "steadily increasing" as threats against him evolve. But she noted that the Secret Service needs to be "adequately resourced" to serve current mission requirements and anticipate future requirements.
There are 36 individuals under Secret Service protection on a daily basis, she said. Agents also protect world leaders visiting the U.S., such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived in Washington on Monday.
"Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death, as the tragic events on July 13 remind us of that," Cheatle said. "I have full confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service. They are worthy of our support in executing our protective mission."
Raskin cites assassination attempt to call for stricter gun laws
Noting that the gunman used an AR-style rifle, Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, raised the failure of Congress to pass more stringent gun laws.
He called the attack a double failure, first by the Secret Service to protect the former president and the second by Congress for failing to "protect our people from criminal gun violence."
"A weapon that can be used to commit a mass shooting at an event under the full protection of the Secret Service together with dozens of state and local police is obviously an intolerable threat to the rest of us who do not receive such protection," Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, said.
He urged Congress to pass legislation enacting universal background checks and to close loopholes in existing firearms laws.
Raskin also said lawmakers must condemn all political violence, including the events on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump's supporters breached the U.S. Capitol building.
Comer opens hearing with call for Cheatle to resign
House Speaker Mike Johnson was in attendance for the start of the hearing. Comer welcomed him to the room and kicked off the hearing with his opening statement.
The Kentucky Republican heralded the bravery of law enforcement officers who protected Trump, rally-goers and Trump himself.
"This tragedy was preventable," Comer said.
He said lawmakers are concerned the Secret Service lacks the "proper management" to keep its protectees safe.
"Americans demand accountability but no one has yet to be fired for his historic failure," Comer said, noting that Cheatle is testifying under subpoena. "It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign."
He said the July 13 assassination attempt represents "one of the darkest days in American political history."
"It represents the ugliest parts of what American politics has become: hatred of each other and a dangerous turn to extremism," Comer said.
Cheatle was in the Secret Service for 27 years before becoming its leader
Cheatle was tapped as director of the Secret Service in September 2022, leaving her role as senior director in global security at PepsiCo to join the agency. She spent 27 years at the Secret Service before making the jump to the private sector.
During her time at the agency, she protected President Bill Clinton during a Michigan campaign trip in 1996 and protected then-Vice President Dick Cheney on Sept. 11, 2001, bringing him to a secure bunker after the attacks.
Cheatle also protected Mr. Biden when he was vice president and was assistant director of the Office of Protective Operations, her most recent role before leaving the Secret Service for PepsiCo.
Rep. Brendan Boyle first Democrat to call for Cheatle's resignation
Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle became the first Democrat to call on Cheatle to step down from her post on Saturday.
"The evidence coming to light has shown unacceptable operational failures," he said in a statement. "I have no confidence in the leadership of the United States Secret Service if Director Cheatle chooses to remain in her position."
Mayorkas announces bipartisan panel to conduct 45-day review of security at Trump rally
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Sunday four law enforcement experts who will conduct an independent review of the attempted assassination of Trump. Earlier this month, Mr. Biden had directed the Department of Homeland Security to run the examination. The department oversees the Secret Service.
The panel will include Janet Napolitano, former Homeland Security Secretary; Frances Townsend, former Homeland Security adviser to President George W. Bush; Mark Filip, former deputy attorney general to Bush; and David Mitchell, former superintendent of the Maryland State Police.
"We are committed to getting to the bottom of what happened on July 13, and I am grateful to the distinguished members of this independent review who will bring decades of expertise in law enforcement and security operations to this important investigation," Mayorkas said in a statement.
Secret Service admits some security modifications for Trump "were not provided" ahead of assassination
The Secret Service admitted some security modifications for Trump "were not provided" ahead of the assassination attempt against him last Saturday.
On Sunday, the Secret Service acknowledged that in some instances when the Secret Service did not provide "specific specialized units or resources," the agency made "modifications to ensure extra protection."
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement Sunday such modifications could include "utilizing state or local partners to provide specialized functions or otherwise identifying alternatives to reduce public exposure of a protectee."
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