Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was vilified by a visibly disappointed House Oversight Committee on Monday after she said she took responsibility for the security failures that led to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump but dodged several key questions.
Cheatle, who was subpoenaed to testify, did not respond when committee members asked whether the Secret Service had secured the building where the gunman opened fire and how he gained access to the roof.
“I’m not going to go into the details of the day,” he said, referring to the ongoing investigation. “There was a plan to provide excessive surveillance and we are still investigating the responsibilities.”
That prompted committee members from both parties to tell him to resign because of his “incompetence,” his “lame excuses” and failure to answer what they called key questions.
“You’re full of — today!” Rep. Nancy Mace, RSC, criticized Cheatle for dodging questions and being “totally dishonest” about her cooperation with the committee.
“We have repeatedly asked you to answer our questions,” Mace said.
Mace announced Monday night on the House floor that he plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Cheatle for high crimes and misdemeanors and for dereliction of duty.
Mace cited Monday’s legislative hearings and said he called the resolution a privilege, meaning a vote on the measure would have to take place within two legislative days.
Independently, Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., He wrote in X he said he planned to introduce articles of impeachment against Cheatle, saying “we have no choice but to impeach” after his “disastrous” performance before the oversight committee on Monday and Cheatle’s refusal to resign.
Impeachment though historically prosecuted against presidents or federal judgesclause applies to all federal officials.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told reporters Monday that she plans to draft a resolution to hold Cheatle in contempt, meaning Cheatle could be fined or arrested by the House sergeant-at-arms.
Luna tried to open a file similar resolution Attorney General v. Merrick Garland earlier this month failed to pass the full House.
The fury of some committee members during the hearing was revealed about an hour into the hearing when Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., asked Cheatle whether guns made his job easier or harder. Cheatle didn’t take yes or no, much to Connolly’s chagrin.
“Please answer the question. You’re the head of the Secret Service,” Connolly said. “Now I think you’re avoiding the answer, it’s not hard.”
Later, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, raised his voice and repeatedly pointed the finger as he similarly demanded clear answers. “Tell us what’s wrong!” he said.
As Trump survived, Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, said Cheatle only appeared “incompetent.” But if the former president had been killed, Turner told Cheatle, “you’d look guilty.”
In his opening remarks, Cheatle called the shooting “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.” He said he was determined to find out what went wrong at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 when a gunman fired from the roof of a nearby building, striking Trump in the ear, killing one rally attendee and wounding another.
“I take responsibility for this tragedy,” Cheatle said. “We will investigate how this happened and take corrective action to ensure it does not happen again.”
When asked by other committee members how many agents were assigned to protect Trump that day, as well as how many times the Secret Service denied Trump’s request for additional security assets, he declined to give specific numbers.
Cheatle said the agency had secured the required assets for the July 13 rally and felt “enough agents were assigned” to Trump that day.
Cheatle told the committee that the gunman was “identified as a suspect” before Trump took the stage. He said Trump was still allowed to continue to the podium where he was shot because the gunman was not yet identified as a “threat.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said the gunman should have been treated as a “threat” and that the rally should have been stopped before Trump began speaking when the audience began shouting that there was a gunman on the roof.
“It’s a threat,” Krishnamoorthi said.
Cheatle said the agency is “still combing through communications and when communications are transmitted.”
Cheatle said the gunman, who he believed was acting alone, went from being a suspect to a threat “seconds” before the shooting began.
Counter-snipers “don’t have to ask for permission” to engage threats, Cheatle added, adding that there are no orders to fire.
Asked about how he communicates, Cheatle said he sometimes uses encrypted apps to communicate with colleagues, but doesn’t use them on his work device.
Despite calls for his resignation, Cheatle stood firm in his decision to remain director and announced his nearly three-decade career at the agency.
“I led with integrity,” Cheatle said. “I assure this committee that I will respond when we have a full and complete report.”
Cheatle said the goal was to have a full report within 60 days, which lawmakers called unacceptable and too long.
“It’s been nine days,” said Rep. James Comer, who chairs the committee. “Every American wants answers to these questions.”