Secret Service chief pressed on why Trump was allowed on stage despite 'suspicious' shooter
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., questioned Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle Monday on why former President Donald Trump was allowed on stage despite Thomas Crooks being identified as "suspicious" by agents.
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are pushing a new resolution demanding that U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle be fired over the failed assassination attempt against former President Trump.
Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., unveiled the legislation Monday during a tense hearing on Capitol Hill where both Republicans and Democrats expressed frustration with Cheatle's lack of candor in her answers. It's already gotten support from a number of House Oversight Committee Republicans.
Langworthy told Fox News Digital that Cheatle "must be held accountable for the unacceptable failure to keep President Trump and rallygoers safe on July 13th."
TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW GUNMAN EVADED SECURITY
Kimberly Cheatle, director of the U.S. Secret Service, during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Monday, July 22, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"In our Oversight hearing today, she did nothing but dodge questions and deflect blame. Corey Comperatore is dead because of this failure of the Secret Service. The American people deserve transparency and competence from their leaders, especially those tasked with the critical responsibility of protecting our nation's highest office. She must be fired now," Langworthy said.
It comes amid mounting calls for the Secret Service director to leave her role after a 20-year-old gunman was able to open fire on Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania from a rooftop just outside the event perimeter. One attendee died and two others were injured.
Trump himself was shot in the ear and was evacuated offstage by Secret Service agents.
TOP REPUBLICAN WARNS OF 'RUDE AWAKENING' IF 'STONEWALLING' CONTINUES AS SECRET SERVICE FACES HEARING
Former President Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Demands for Cheatle to be relieved of her duties have come primarily from the right, though on Sunday, Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, also urged her to step down.
"I’m very sorry to reach this conclusion: I have no confidence in the leadership of the United States Secret Service. I hereby call on Kimberly Cheatle to resign," Boyle said.
Democrats have also stepped out of Cheatle's ongoing hearing on Monday to vent about answers they found insufficient during the all-day hearing.
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"If she continues to evade fairly simple and direct questions…I think she makes the case for her continuation much more problematic," Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., told reporters.
Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., on Monday called for Cheatle to resign during the Secret Service director's hearing, saying, "If you have an assassination attempt on a president or a former president or a candidate, you need to resign."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
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