In the first congressional hearing over the shooting at a rally in former President Donald Trump’s campaign in Pennsylvania, US Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle said she took “full responsibility” for the lapses in security on July 13.

‘We failed’

In a tense and contentious hearing before the House Oversight Committee, Cheatle faced criticism over the agency’s handling of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

Cheatle acknowledged that the incident marked the “most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades”.

Cheatle emphasized the agency’s commitment to protecting national leaders and expressed remorse for the security breakdown that allowed a gunman to target Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders. On July 13, we failed,” she stated during her testimony.

Calls for Cheatle’s resignation

Despite calls from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers for her resignation, Cheatle asserted her determination to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“I will move heaven and earth to ensure that what occurred will never happen again,” she declared, while defending her leadership amidst intense scrutiny.

“I think that I’m the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time,” Cheatle said, touting her increase in hiring and staffing since her tenure as head of the agency began in 2022.

Criticism of security protocols

The hearing also scrutinized why the Secret Service did not deploy agents on the rooftop from where the shooter fired and why Trump was allowed on stage despite potential security threats.

Cheatle cited ongoing investigations and emphasized the complexity of security protocols in such high-stakes events.

“If the detail had been passed that there was a threat, the detail would never have brought the former president out onto the stage,” she said.

Lawmakers expressed frustration over what they perceived as evasiveness from Cheatle regarding specifics of the security protocols and intelligence failures leading up to the assassination attempt.

Despite criticism, Cheatle defended the actions of agents who responded swiftly to neutralize the threat against Trump.

(With inputs from ABC News, CBS News, New York Times, AP)