Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said she will not be stepping down from her role in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
Cheatle has been thrust into the national spotlight in recent days after a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally on Saturday, grazing the former president’s ear, killing a rally attendee and injuring two others. The Secret Service has faced scrutiny over the incident as questions swirl over how the gunman was able to get close enough to take a shot at Trump during the rally in Butler, Pa.
Some critics and lawmakers have suggested that Cheatle should resign or be fired over the shooting. ABC’s Pierre Thomas noted that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he has “100 percent” confidence in the Secret Service following the shooting.
“I appreciate the secretary’s comments. And we are going to continue to be transparent and communicate with people,” she responded.
When asked if she plans to step down following the incident, she said she does not.
“I do plan to stay on,” she told Thomas in the interview that aired Monday on ABC News’s “World News Tonight.”
She also said her first reaction to the shooting was “shock and concern” for the former president, adding that the shooting “should have never happened.” She reiterated to Thomas that the shooting was “unacceptable” and “it’s something that shouldn’t happen again.”
She also said it is her responsibility to look into the incident.
“The buck stops with me,” she said. “I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary.”
President Biden directed an independent review of rally security Sunday. Cheatle said in a Monday statement that the Secret Service will “participate fully” in the independent review and work with Congress “on any oversight action.”
GOP lawmakers are pledging congressional investigations into the shooting. Cheatle is expected to testify to the House Oversight Committee next week about the incident.