Head of US Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle resigns

US President Joe Biden has thanked Director of the US Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle for her decades of public service after she announced her resignation amid criticism over the attempted assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

An assassin’s bullet grazed Trump’s right ear as he was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania almost two weeks ago.

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Cheatle initially rejected bipartisan calls for her to resign, particularly after she took full responsibility for the security lapses and calling the attempt on Trump’s life one of the most significant operational failures in decades.

Cheatle also told lawmakers that she had called Trump to apologise while earlier arguing that she remained the right person to lead the Secret Service.

But her responses angered members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee by refusing to answer all their questions about operational actions around the Trump rally.

Cheatle told staff on Tuesday that in light of recent events, it was with a heavy heart that she has made the difficult decision to step down.

Biden has directed an independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13th.