Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle infuriated lawmakers Monday when she awkwardly navigated Congressional questions and tried to explain how a 20-year-old was able to shoot Donald Trump.
Thomas Crooks, 20, climbed onto the roof of a building about 450 feet (130 meters) from the stage at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, before opening fire and shooting the former president and others, killing one person.
The tragedy has left Cheatle in a difficult position, leaving confusion as to how such an omission, which led to the near-death of a former president and current presidential candidate, could have occurred under her watch.
On Monday morning, Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee that her agency is still actively investigating the attempted assassination of Trump nine days ago, and as a result, she cannot answer many questions.
This earned her the scorn of Republicans and Democrats, who inundated her with calls to resign and reveal more about the agency’s historic failures.
But she blocked them and provided little additional information about the shooting, drawing painful criticism from lawmakers.
One MP became so angry that she even cursed the director of the Secret Service.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle sat before the House Oversight Committee for hours Monday to testify about the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. As Democrats and Republicans alike swarmed her, they grew frustrated and sometimes shouted in response to her vague and incomplete answers.
“You’re not talking shit today,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., shouted at Cheatle when the Secret Service chief didn’t know if the agency had provided evidence to the committee. “You’re just being completely dishonest.”
The South Carolina Republican also slammed Cheatle for not delivering her opening statement ahead of the hearing, even though it was published in several news outlets hours before she testified.
The director said, “I have no idea how my statement was distributed,” to which Mace sternly replied, “That’s nonsense.”
But Cheatle wasn’t just being lambasted by Republicans.
“You can’t run a Secret Service agency when there’s an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate!” the incredulous Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told Cheatle during his hearing.
“I believe, Director Cheatle, that you should resign. I think there are colleagues on both sides of the aisle who feel that way, and I hope you will consider it.”
During the conversation, Cheatle sat quietly playing with a writing utensil, keeping a somber expression on her face and occasionally looking down and then up at the lawmaker speaking to her.
She repeatedly dodged questions, saying that “the incident was only nine days ago and an investigation is still ongoing.”
Perhaps the most disappointing answer for lawmakers was Cheatle’s response to the question of how long the American people will have to wait for answers about the attempted assassination of Trump.
She said the agency expects to have answers for lawmakers within “60 days.”
The response was so dire that it brought together two lawmakers of nearly ideological opposites — Squad Leader Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and conservative, ambitious Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. — in a rare agreement.
They called the 60-day waiting period unacceptable.
“You’re not making this easy for us,” Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) said in annoyance after Cheatle refused to release figures related to the investigation.