Speaker Johnson says Secret Service Director Cheatle 'did the right thing' resigning

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Speaker Johnson reacts to Secret Service director’s resignation

Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle did the "right thing" resigning from her role after the failed assassination attempt against former President Trump.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is praising U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle's decision to step down from her role.

Kimberly Cheatle announced Tuesday she was resigning her role in the wake of the failed assassination attempt against former President Trump.

"I'm glad she did the right thing. Look, our reaction, the immediate reaction to her resignation, is that it is overdue. She should have done this at least a week ago," Johnson said on Tuesday.

The House Speaker had just announced the end of his weekly press conference when news broke that Cheatle was stepping down, returning to the microphone after a reporter alerted him to the update.

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Speaker Mike Johnson has led the charge against Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle after the Pennsylvania Trump rally shooting (Getty Images)

"I’m happy to see that, I'm happy to see that she has heeded the call of both Republicans and Democrats. Now we have to pick up the pieces. We have to rebuild the American people's faith and trust in the secret services," Johnson said.

"I hope that the interim director or whomever is appointed to replace Director Cheatle will be very sober-minded about the responsibility and take into account the very dangerous times in which we live. We'll do everything we can in the House to ensure that that's true."

Cheatle had been under bipartisan pressure to resign after a 20-year-old shooter was able to open fire on Trump's Butler, Pennsylvania rally from a roof just outside the event perimeter, killing one rally attendee and critically injuring two others.

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Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump himself was shot in the upper part of his right ear and was rushed offstage by Secret Service agents.

Cheatle was grilled for hours during a tense House Oversight Committee hearing on Monday, after which the top two lawmakers on the panel, Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., released a rare joint statement calling on her to resign.

Comer said in response to her stepping down, "While Director Cheatle’s resignation is a step toward accountability, we need a full review of how these security failures happened so that we can prevent them going forward. We will continue our oversight of the Secret Service in support of the House Task Force to deliver transparency, accountability, and solutions to ensure this never happens again."

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U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle responds to questions as she testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 22, 2024.   (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

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Raskin's statement read, "Chairman Comer and I issued a bipartisan call for USSS Director Cheatle to resign so the Secret Service can swiftly guarantee protection to its details. She has resigned. I wish Chairman Comer would join me in legislation to ban AR-15s and other assault weapons to keep all Americans—not just presidents but schoolchildren and firefighters—safe from more mass shootings."

Johnson told reporters during his press conference that he had a candid conversation with Cheatle before the Monday hearing and told her, "It's not personal, but there must be accountability."