Thursday, July 16, 2026

U.S. Secret Service chief admits failure in protecting Trump; refuses to resign

Ms Cheatle revealed that she had contacted Mr Trump after the incident to apologise for the failure of her agency.

• July 22, 2024
Donald Trump
Donald Trump

Kimberly Cheatle, Director of the United States Secret Service, admitted on Monday that her agency had failed in its duty to protect former President Donald Trump during a failed assassination attempt on Saturday, July 13.

“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.

Ms Cheatle revealed that she had contacted Mr Trump after the incident to apologise for the failure of her agency. However, she declined to answer specific questions posed by committee members.

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

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.”

Economy

Jack-Rich, Trump seek closer U.S.-Nigeria ties

Mr Trump endorsed Mr Jack-Rich’s call for closer engagement, saying Africa possesses extraordinary economic potential that should not be overlooked by the U.S.

Economy

Abia, Enugu collaborate to train 150,000 tech talent

Abia and Enugu have called for stronger regional collaboration to train 150,000 tech talents and incubate 3,000 startups across Nigeria.

States

Museum unveils memorial sculpture to immortalise Onyeama N’Eke

The National Museum of Unity, Enugu, on Wednesday unveiled a memorial sculpture and a permanent exhibition gallery in honour of Onyeama N’Eke.

Wife of Kwara State governor, Olufolake AbdulRazaq

Health

Kwara assembly backs malaria elimination

The Kwara House of Assembly has reaffirmed support for efforts to eradicate malaria and expand healthcare infrastructure across the state.

Aminu Tambuwal

NationWide

Tambuwal seeks review of housing agencies, better funding for FMBN

Mr Tambuwal called for stronger funding for the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and a review of government housing policies.

Released Oyo hostages

States

Oyo Terrorists: Senate honours slain soldiers, teachers with N50 million donation

Senate president Godwill Akpabio, who gave the approval during the plenary on Wednesday, stated that each of the five bereaved families would receive N10 million.