A group of senators surrounded Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Wednesday demanding answers as the agency chief refuses to resign after former President Donald Trump was shot last weekend.
“This was an assassination attempt! You owe the people answers. You owe President Trump answers!” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., as Cheatle walked away from the cadre of lawmakers lodging questions.
“It’s stonewalling!” said Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 3 Republican in the upper chamber.
Barrasso and Blackburn were joined by Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Kevin Kramer of North Dakota in confronting the embattled Secret Service chief, who is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday. Lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee also extended an invitation for Cheatle, the FBI director, and the secretary of Homeland Security to testify.
“It is appalling that the Secret Service Director refused to answer our questions. This is one of the greatest security failures in the history of the agency. She can run but she cannot hide. She is a failed leader and she needs to immediately step down from her position,” Blackburn said in a statement following the altercation.
The Republican presidential nominee narrowly escaped assassination at a Pennsylvania rally Saturday after a split-second tilt of the head led the bullet through his right ear instead of the back of his brain.
“I do plan to stay on,” the Secret Service director said in an interview with ABC News just two days after the assassination attempt.
Cheatle went on to blame local law enforcement for the security failures culminating in a gunman successfully climbing the roof of a nearby building to fire multiple shots, killing one rallygoer and injuring two others, in addition to the former president.
“In this particular instance, we did share support for that particular site and that the Secret Service was responsible for the inner perimeter,” Cheatle said. “And then we sought assistance from our local counterparts for the outer perimeter. There was local police in that building — there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building.”
The federal agency, however, is ultimately responsible for orchestrating security, which includes risk assessments of long-range shooters and instructions for local law enforcement who offer event assistance.
Three counter-snipers were stationed in the building underneath the roof from which the gunman fired on Saturday. According to Channel 11 News, a local Pennsylvania outlet, law enforcement had spotted the shooter nearly a half hour before Trump was hit. NBC News reported the Secret Service was even made aware of the unique threat presented by the building “days” before the rally, and yet Cheatle said the reason law enforcement did not secure the rooftop was because it was “sloped.”
[RELATED: Any Roofer Worth His Salt Knows Secret Service’s ‘Sloped’ Roof Excuse Is Total Nonsense]
Cheatle reiterated she would continue to serve in the high-stakes role following her engagement with senators at the RNC. Her office explained in a statement the “continuity of operations is paramount during a critical incident and U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has no intentions to step down.”
