US Secret Service head Kimberly Cheatle resigns after attempted assassination of Donald Trump

“Director Cheatle, because Donald Trump is alive and thank God he is, you look incompetent. If Donald Trump had been killed, you would have looked culpable,” said a furious Mike Turner, who is also the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on Intelligence.

“Not only should you resign, if you refuse to do so, President Biden needs to fire you, because his life, Donald Trump’s life, and all the other people which you protect are at risk, because you have no concept of the aspect that the security footprint needs to be correlated to the threat.”

While Cheatle had insisted yesterday that she remained the “right person” to lead the Secret Service, she sent an email to staff this morning telling them: “I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each, and every one of you do towards our vital mission.

“In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director.”

Loading

The agency’s deputy director Ronald Rowe has been appointed acting director until a permanent replacement is appointed.

The attempted assassination on Trump shocked the world and reignited concerns around political violence in America.

Several inquiries and now underway into how Crookes was able to fire at least six rounds from a roof, about 400 feet from where Trump was addressing the crowd.

Trump turned his head at the last minute, and was only grazed by the bullet before being whisked away to safety. However, one spectator was killed and two others were critically injured in the crossfire.

The former president and his family have repeatedly praised the Secret Service for saving his life, and Trump had initially called for unity in the wake of the shooting.

But in a post today, he wrote: “The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOUR TO DO SO!”

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.