Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in the wake of a House committee hearing at which she faced harsh criticism over the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
"I take full responsibility for the security lapse," Cheatle said in an email to staff, obtained by the Associated Press. "In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director."
Cheatle also reportedly said she expected the "intense" scutiny of the July 13 sniper attack at a Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania "will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases."
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, one of the lawmakers who grilled Cheatle on Monday, celebrated her resignation on social media, accusing Cheatle of having "participated in a cover up" and saying she "may face criminal investigations."
Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who also ripped into Cheatle during the hearing, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "I will sleep better at night knowing that President Trump's Secret Service is no longer led by an abject failure."
Cheatle faced bipartisan calls to resign following Monday's heated hearing, including from high-profile Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
"Why was the Secret Service's protective perimeter in Butler shorter than the range of an AR-15? It does not take 60 days to answer that question," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on social media Monday night. "The agency's failure to publicly account for these questions and others from Congress is unacceptable."
The White House released a statement in which President Joe Biden praised Chealtle for her "decades of public service" and her decision to step down.
"As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service," he said.
Biden said he looked forward to the results of an investigation into the July 13 attack, saying that "what happened that day can never happen again."
He also said he planned to replace Cheatle "soon."
Trump suffered a minor wound to his left ear when a bullet passed within 1/4 inch of his head, U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, Trump's former White House physician said Sunday.
A rally attendee who was sitting in the stands behind Trump, Corey Comperatore, was killed while shielding his family from bullets and two other men in the crowd were critically wounded.
Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle from a rooftop about 150 yards from where Trump was standing and was killed by the Secret Service.
