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The US Director of Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned on Tuesday, in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former American President Donald Trump.
Many Republicans had called for her to step down since the incident.
US lawmakers and an internal government watchdog were investigating the agency’s handling of Mr Trump’s protection and how a gunman came close to killing the 2024 Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania this month,
On Monday, Ms Cheatle appeared before the US House Oversight Committee. The lawmakers were frustrated by her lack of specific answers about the assassination attempt. By the end of the hearing, the officials called on her to step down.
During her House Oversight appearance, she also acknowledged that there were “significant” and “colossal” problems with the security at the rally, but still rebuffed demands for her resignation.
“I think I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time,” CNN reported Ms Cheatle as saying Monday.
Before she was appointed Secret Service Director in 2022, She led the protection team of Dick Cheney and Joe Biden in their vice-presidential tenures.
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In an email to Secret Service employees on Tuesday, Ms Cheatle said that one of the agency’s foremost duties is to protect the nation’s leaders and that it “fell short of that mission” in failing to secure a campaign rally from a gunman on July 13.
“I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each and every one of you do towards our vital mission,” Ms Cheatle said in the email, which was reviewed by The New York Times.
She said she was deeply committed to the agency but added that “in light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and First Lady Jill Biden are “grateful” for Ms Cheatle’s decades of public service.
“As a leader, it takes honour, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organisation tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service,” Mr Biden said of Ms Cheatle.
Mr Biden said he would appoint a new director soon.
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