Blackburn slams Secret Service chief for 'celebrating herself' at RNC after Trump assassination attempt

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Blackburn speaks out after confronting Secret Service director: Would not 'provide answers'

Sen. Marsha Blackburn speaks with Fox News' Harris Faulkner about her confrontation with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle as Americans demand answers about the Trump assassination attempt.

MILWAUKEE — Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn doubled down on her demand for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to answer questions about the assassination attempt against former President Trump.

"Director Cheatle can run, but she can’t hide. If she has time to sweet-talk folks in a luxury suite at the RNC, she has time to answer how the Secret Service’s failures resulted in President Trump’s near-assassination," Blackburn told Fox News Digital on Thursday. "The last thing she should be doing is celebrating herself while rank-and-file agents are working around the clock to provide security in Milwaukee."

During the third night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Blackburn and fellow GOP Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., James Lankford, R-Okla., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., confronted Cheatle over the security failures to prevent an assassination attempt on Trump's life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

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This image shows Sens. Marsha Blackburn and John Barrasso confronting Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. (@VoteMarsha/X)

"Stonewalling," Barrasso can be heard yelling at Cheatle as she walks through the convention center.

"This was an assassination attempt, you owe the people answers, you owe President Trump answers," Blackburn said.

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Cheatle was in a luxury box at the RNC viewing speakers as they took the stage in the lead-up to Ohio Sen. JD Vance's first speech since he was announced as Trump's running mate.

In another clip, the lawmakers were seen shouting at the Secret Service chief, with Cheatle responding, "I don’t think that this is the forum to have this discussion."

Cheatle has refused to step down amid the calls for answers on how a gunman was able to open fire on Trump and rallygoers in Pennsylvania on Saturday. 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., speaks during the first day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 15, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

"Continuity of operations is paramount during a critical incident and U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has no intentions to step down," Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said. "She deeply respects members of Congress and is fiercely committed to transparency in leading the Secret Service through the internal investigation and strengthening the agency through lessons learned in these important internal and external reviews."

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Gunfire rang out at the start of Trump's campaign rally on Saturday. Trump was seen abruptly grabbing his right ear before ducking and hitting the floor of the stage. Secret Service personnel quickly surrounded Trump before they rushed him from the stage, his right ear covered in blood.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is shown after being grazed by a bullet during his campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Before he was ushered out, Trump repeatedly yelled, "Fight!" while giving a fist pump to the crowd to indicate he was all right.

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The shooter was identified as 20-year-old Pennsylvania man Thomas Matthew Crooks, who, in addition to injuring Trump, injured two rally-goers and killed 50-year-old father Corey Comperatore.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face and surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is rushed off the stage in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

Calls and questions about the attack have mounted, with conservative lawmakers increasingly calling on Cheatle to resign over the security failure.

"How could this have occurred? This close to the death of a former president, we didn’t get any kind of satisfaction. Time for the head of the Secret Service to go," Barasso said.

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Security at the Republican National Convention was amplified after the shooting, with officers from jurisdictions across the country staged across the massive convention in Milwaukee.