Secret Service Director Tells Congress ‘We Failed’ in Trump Assassination Attempt Hearing

The director of the U.S. Secret Service told Congress on Monday that the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades” and took full responsibility for the security failures that day.

“The solemn mission of the Secret Service is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed,” Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle told the House Oversight Committee. “As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security failures. We are cooperating fully with ongoing investigations. We need to know what happened.”

In her first congressional hearing, Cheatle also told the committee that she would move “heaven and earth” to ensure that what happened never happens again.

“Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death, as the tragic events of July 13 remind us,” she said. “I have full confidence in the men and women of the Secret Service. They deserve our support as they carry out our mission of protection.”

It’s another big week for the Secret Service, which is tasked with ensuring the safety of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Washington, D.C. — a task the director focused on while overseeing security for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week.

Cheatle is being questioned by the House Oversight Committee about how her agency handled security surrounding the Trump assassination attempt.

Several Republicans and at least one Democrat have called on Cheatle to resign after the former president was targeted at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Rep. John Comer, R-Kentucky, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told Cheatle in his opening statement that he was among those who believed she should resign.

Cheatle said she would not resign.

The Secret Service director was questioned Monday about her statements in an interview with ABC News about why no agents were placed on the roof of a building outside the rally’s security perimeter, from where the suspected shooter fired, due to the sloped nature of the roof.

“I should have been clearer in my answer when I talked about where we placed personnel in that interview. What I can tell you is that there was a plan in place to provide surveillance, and we’re still looking at who was going to provide surveillance and who was going to provide surveillance, but the Secret Service in general, not specifically in this incident, when we’re providing surveillance, whether it’s through countersniper or other technology, prefers to have sterile roofs,” Cheatle said.

Cheatle also admitted that the FBI told her the shooter flew a drone over the rally site, but she did not elaborate.

Cheatle also said that if the details had information that there was a threat to the former president, they would not have brought Trump on stage, but she said that information was not relayed to them.

“If the police had been given the information that there was a threat, they would never have brought the former president on stage,” she said. “That’s what we do. That’s who we are. We’re charged with protecting everyone we protect. We know the difference between a suspicious person and a threatening person. Often times, suspicious people are identified, and those people are investigated to determine what identifies them as suspicious.”

She said the Secret Service did not know the suspect had a weapon until former President Trump took the stage.

The hearing room Monday was packed, with standing room only, as opening statements were delivered by Chairman James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, and Cheatle. House Speaker Mike Johnson was also in attendance.

Cheatle is expected to be questioned about whether her agency denied former President Trump the security resources she requested in the two years leading up to Saturday, as first reported by The Washington Post, something her agency initially denied but then admitted over the weekend.

In a statement to ABC News, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said: “In some cases where specific Secret Service units or specialized resources were not provided, the agency has made modifications to ensure the safety of the protected person. This may include using state or local partners to provide specialized functions or identifying other alternatives to reduce a protected person’s public exposure.”

In a rare bipartisan statement, Raskin joined Comer in demanding that Cheatle testify after the Department of Homeland Security requested that his appearance be delayed, prompting Comer to issue a subpoena.

The DHS inspector general has opened three separate investigations into what happened, the FBI is currently conducting a criminal investigation, and Johnson has promised congressional resources for a separate probe.

As the agency’s director, Cheatle said it was her responsibility to investigate what happened and ensure it doesn’t happen again.

“I’m the one in charge,” she told ABC News’ chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas in an exclusive interview on July 15. “I’m the director of the Secret Service and I have to make sure that we do a review and that we give our people the resources they need.”

Cheatle was in Milwaukee last week to oversee security for the Republican National Convention and met with the former president on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the situation.

“The Secret Service is not political,” she told ABC News. “Security is not political. People’s safety is not political. And that’s what we’re focused on as an agency.”

Republicans also indicated they would question Cheatle about his past statements that promoting diversity within the agency was a top priority.

DHS has pushed back against criticism of women on Trump’s security team.

“In the days following the attempted assassination of former President Trump, some individuals have made public statements questioning the presence of women in law enforcement, including the U.S. Secret Service,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other senior officials wrote in a statement. “These claims are baseless and insulting.”