Secret Service Director Says: “I Take Responsibility”

CNN
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U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said Monday that “I’m in charge” as questions mounted about the agency’s security preparations following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday.

On Monday, Cheatle told ABC News that “the Secret Service is responsible for protecting the former president” and that “I am the one in charge, I am the director of the Secret Service.” She said she plans to remain director.

The director said the shooting was “unacceptable,” adding: “It’s an event that should never have happened.”

Asked what his initial reaction was to the failed assassination attempt on Trump, Cheatle said: “Shock, and then concern, obviously, for the former president.”

In his first public comment since the attempted assassination of Trump, Cheatle said in a statement earlier Monday that the agency would “participate fully” in an independent review ordered by President Joe Biden and would work with Congress on “any oversight measures.”

Cheatle, who was appointed by Biden in 2022, expressed confidence in the agency’s security plan for this week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and said changes have been made to Trump’s security detail since Saturday.

“The Secret Service has an immense responsibility to protect the current and past leaders of our democracy,” Cheatle said. “It is a responsibility I take extremely seriously, and I am committed to fulfilling that mission.”

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to Cheatle with a new round of document requests and a notice to preserve all documents and communications related to Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, as the committee separately investigates the assassination attempt.

CNN’s Annie Grayer and Whitney Wild contributed to this report.