Top House Oversight Democrat Jamie Raskin told Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle that he believes she should resign, capping off an hourslong hearing into security failures surrounding the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
“I don’t want to add to the director’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, but I will be joining the chairman in calling for the resignation of the director, just because I think that this relationship is irretrievable at this point,” Raskin (D-Md.) said, referring to Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.).
“I think that the director has lost the confidence of Congress at a very urgent and tender moment in the history of the country,” Raskin continued.
Comer earlier in the hearing called for Cheatle’s resignation: “We are concerned the Secret Service lacks the proper management to keep protectees safe from bad actors,” Comer said, adding that under Cheatle’s leadership, “we question whether anyone is safe.”
As he wrapped up the hearing, Comer said that he and Raskin would also be sending a letter requesting Cheatle’s resignation “as a step toward accountability in what happened.”
Cheatle defended her decision to stay in her position during the hearing. But she’s faced fierce, and growing, bipartisan criticism during the hearing as lawmakers vented frustration over her inability to answer several questions because investigations are still ongoing.
