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Trump reacts to Cheatle's resigning as Biden vows to appoint Secret Service boss soon: ‘It was my great honour…’
Donald Trump on Tuesday reacted to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who stepped down after an assassination attempt on ex-president.
Donald Trump on Tuesday reacted to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who stepped down from the position after facing intense interrogation in Congress on attempted assassination of the former president.
Cheatle's resignation was announced early Tuesday following a four to five hours of questioning by the House Oversight Committee on Monday. The lawmakers were seeking to find out more about the attempt on Trump's life at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, as well as the actions taken by the Secret Service in response.
The assassination attempt that left Trump and others wounded and one man dead sparked calls for Cheatle's departure due to the agency's failure to provide tight security to the former president despite his plea for the same.
Trump recalled the attempted assassination and criticised the Biden administration and the Secret Service shortly after Cheatle's resignation.
“The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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Biden says he's ‘grateful’ to Kimberly Cheatle
Reacting to her resignation, Biden issued a lengthy statement and praised her services. The POTUS named Cheatle as the director of the Secret Service after former Director James Murray retired in 2022.
“Jill and I are grateful to Director Kim Cheatle for her decades of public service,” he stated. He mentioned that she has given her all to protect the, risking her life in the process, throughout her tenure in the US Secret Service. “We especially thank her for answering the call to lead the Secret Service during our Administration and we are grateful for her service to our family.”
“The independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13 continues, and I look forward to assessing its conclusions. What happened that day can never happen again. As we move forward, I wish Kim all the best, and I will plan to appoint a new Director soon.”
Cheatle's exit occurs in the midst of a contentious political climate in the US. Abandoning his candidacy, Biden on Sunday declared his support for Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. Democrats require to designate a replacement for Biden by August 7, failing which they run the risk of being excluded off the Ohio ballot.
In the meantime, Trump has praised Biden's decision to drop out of the contest and declared that he thinks Harris will be even easier to defeat.
