Following the assassination attempt on the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, on July 13, Kimberly Cheatle, the United States Secret Service chief, has tendered her resignation. This followed pressure and criticism on the agency to prevent a shooting incident, which was never achieved in this case.
In the email to the staff, Cheatle accepted full responsibility for the ‘security lapse’ and informed them that after careful consideration, she decided to resign from the position of director.
The shooting took place on the evening of March 30, 1980, when the candidate of the Republican Partyaler was holding a rally in the state of Pennsylvania; a man armed with a gun and positioned on the roof of the building nearby tried to shoot the candidate from close range but only managed to make Trump wince and get a bullet into his ear.
It has also revealed issues concerning the protective measures taken and the safety of vital political personalities, particularly by the Secret Service team.
When testifying in a congress, Cheatle admitted that it was the biggest operational mishap in the service’s history and promised that the agency would not let anything like it occur again.
President Joe Biden directed an outside security assessment of the rally and thanked Cheatle for her career in public service, saying that he would select her successor shortly. He leaves at a most inconvenient time following the controversial months and especially before the U.S. election in November.
