Homeland Security chair: Cheatle must step down as head of Secret Service

U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., called Monday for the immediate resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for the agency’s failures on July 13, when an assassination attempt was made on former President Donald Trump’s life. A key reason Trump likely survived is because he turned his head at the time of impact, causing the bullet to graze his right ear.

Green called on Cheatle to resign as she testified before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, admitting to security failures and that the alleged shooter had previously been identified as “suspicious,” The Center Square reported.

Also on Monday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Green toured the assassination attempt site in Butler, Penn., including going on the roof where the alleged shooter reportedly fired.

Green said the bipartisan delegation has “a lot of questions.” But based on the information they already know, he said, “I think one thing’s pretty clear: Director Cheatle needs to step down as the head of the Secret Service.”

He also addressed claims Cheatle made to the press, including the deliberate decision not to put snipers on the roof of the nearby building because it was “sloped.” She told ABC News, “That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof.”

Cheatle should first resign because of “the crazy idea that the slope of a roof would keep them from putting counter snipers on the building,” Green, a retired U.S. Army major, said. He also said she didn’t make that argument “in the call I had with her the day after the event. She didn’t mention that as a cause. She said that the assessment team was going to cover it” from a certain position.

Her reasoning for not positioning counter-snipers on of the roof in question “was an absurd, unacceptable, and obviously unfounded excuse,” he said.

Green also said Cheatle “misled Congress when she suggested to us that the Trump team did not ask for additional resources. We know now clearly that they did.”

He also took issue with her blaming local law enforcement for security failures “when very clearly the responsibility lies with Secret Service to protect the president.”

He said she “is in over her head and needs to step down. That is a clear fact.”

Green also has demanded answers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who initially defended Secret Service’s failures. Green led the charge to impeach Mayorkas in February for his role in creating an unprecedented border crisis.

DHS security failures include failing to secure the perimeter of the event, not having security on all surrounding building rooftops or a nearby water tower, not deploying helicopters, drones or other technologies, among other security breaches, Green and others have identified.

Whistle blowers who contacted U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, said Trump’s security detail didn’t solely involve Secret Service personnel but also “unprepared and inexperienced personnel” from DHS, The Center Square reported.

Green’s committee “has worked in good faith to get answers since July 13” from DHS, he said. “In response, Director Cheatle refused to testify before our Committee, and DHS has been anything but transparent or forthcoming.”

While he recognized the importance of the Secret Service. he said she was unfit to lead it.

“For more than 120 years, the Secret Service has had a no-fail mission to protect our nation’s presidents. Secret Service agents put themselves in danger – sometimes at the cost of their very lives – to carry out this mission, and to protect our democratic form of government. These brave men and women deserve to be led by someone they can be confident in,” he said. “Our nation deserves that. Director Cheatle has rightfully admitted the near assassination of a former president was a failure. She even said the buck stops with her. For the good of this country, Director Cheatle must resign immediately.”

Joining Green in Pennsylvania were DHS Committee Ranking Member Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Democratic Reps. Lou Correa of California and Glenn Ivey of Maryland. Thompson led the charge to remove Trump’s security detail in April, three months before the assassination attempt, The Center Square reported.

Republican committee members include Reps. Michael McCaul of Texas, Michael Guest of Miss., Carlos Gimenez and Laurel Lee of Florida, Nick LaLota of New York, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma and Eli Crane of Arizona.

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Penn., also joined them.

Editor’s Note: Things didn’t go any better for Cheatle inside the Capitol on Monday, as evidenced by this exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina)…