Friday, October 9, 2026

Director of U.S. Secret Service resigns after failed assassination of Trump

“As your director I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” Ms. Cheatle said

• July 23, 2024
Kimberly A. Cheatle
Kimberly A. Cheatle[credit : US Today]

U.S. Secret Service Director, Kimberly A. Cheatle, has resigned on Tuesday amid investigation of a failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at Butler, Pa.

“As your director I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” Ms. Cheatle said in the email sent to staff of the Secret Service on Tuesday, according to New York Times.

Ms Cheatle’s resignation followed grilling by U.S. lawmakers on Monday that saw bipartisan calls for her resignation.

“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed,” Ms Cheatle said as she was questioned by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

“As Director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse,” she added.

Lawmakers from both parties were aggressive in their criticism of Ms Cheatle’s leadership and called for her resignation.

Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, joined many Republican colleagues in demanding Ms Cheatle step down.

James R. Comer, a Republican representative from Kentucky and Chairman of the committee, described Ms Cheatle’s agency as the “face of incompetence,” while Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, accused the Secret Service of “cutting corners.”

Last week, Mr Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania, opened fire during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania.

A bullet grazed Mr Trump’s ear in the incident, which also resulted in the death of one rally attendee, Corey Comperatore, and injuries to two others. The shooter was subdued by Secret Service agents moments after he began firing at Mr Trump.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

Nigerian Bar Association

States

Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future

The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Xenophobic violence in South Africa

Africa

Cars burnt, properties looted in South Africa’s fresh xenophobic violence

A new wave of xenophobic violence rocked South Africa on Thursday, with several cars razed and properties looted.

Peter Obi, President Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar

Opinion

Leadership and storytelling in election season

Compelling stories create impact that shapes the future. And leaders who fail to tell honest stories shape nothing but frustration and disappointment.

IPDs

Rights

Kebbi: Gov Idris vows to resettle IDPs uprooted by bandits to their ancestral homes

“We are not here for politics, but we are here to sympathise with you over the recent bandit attacks,” the Kebbi governor said.

Anti-Corruption

Stephen Odiboh sentenced to 33 months for multi-victim wire fraud, romance scams

Stephen Odiboh has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His sentencing was announced on Thursday.

Woman Trafficking

Rights

Nigeria questions UN femicide data, seeks stronger action against women trafficking

Nigeria has raised concerns about the reliability of international statistics on femicide in Africa, citing inadequate data collection and reporting mechanisms.

Hegseth, Hasan

World

Trump admin to livestream Fort Hood shooter’s public execution, says Pentagon

Mr Hegseth told Real America’s Voice that Mr Hasan would be executed by firing squad to send a message that there are consequences for terrorist acts.