WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� When led the Secret Service's operations to and other dignitaries, she said she would talk to agents in training about the 鈥渁wesome responsibility鈥� of their job.
鈥淭his agency and the Secret Service has a zero fail mission,鈥� Cheatle, who is now director of the agency, said in 2021 during a ." 鈥淭hey have to come in every day prepared and ready with their game face on.鈥�
Now, the Secret Service and its director are under intense scrutiny over that 鈥渮ero fail鈥� mission following an during a July 13 rally in Pennsylvania that wounded his ear. Lawmakers and others across the political spectrum are questioning to the Republican presidential nominee when he was supposed to be carefully guarded.
Adding to that scrutiny is at his events, after initially denying that it had done so.
Cheatle, who will testify before lawmakers Monday after congressional committees and the Biden administration launched a series of investigations, told ABC News that the shooting was 鈥渦nacceptable.鈥� When asked who bears the most responsibility, she said ultimately it is the Secret Service that protects the former president.
鈥淭he buck stops with me," Cheatle said. 鈥淚 am the director of the Secret Service.鈥� She said she has no plans to resign, and so far she has the administration鈥檚 backing.
Democratic President Joe Biden appointed Cheatle in August 2022 to take over an agency with a history of scandals, and she worked to bolster diverse hiring, especially of women in the male-dominated service. The second woman to lead the Secret Service, Cheatle worked her way up for 27 years before leaving in 2021 for a job as a security executive at PepsiCo. Biden brought her back.
Now, she faces her most serious challenge: figuring out what went wrong with the agency's core responsibility to protect presidents and whether she can maintain the support 鈥� or the job itself 鈥� to make changes.
Details are still unfolding , including the steps taken by the Secret Service and local authorities to secure a building that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, climbed within an estimated 147 yards (135 meters) of where Trump was speaking. An Corey Comperatore, was killed and two others were wounded.
The Biden administration has directed an independent review of security at the rally. The Homeland Security Department's inspector general has opened three investigations and as calls mount for Cheatle to resign. Two Republican senators demanding answers followed her as she walked through the Republican National Convention this past week.
鈥淭he nation deserves answers and accountability,鈥� Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., posted on the social media platform X. "New leadership at the Secret Service would be an important step in that direction.鈥�
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on X that Biden should fire Cheatle immediately, noting Comperatore's death and saying that 鈥渨e ... were millimeters away from losing President Trump. It is inexcusable.鈥� Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said in a statement Saturday that 鈥漷he evidence coming to light has shown unacceptable operational failures" and he would have no confidence in Cheatle's leadership if she were to stay in the job.
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee subpoenaed Cheatle to appear Monday, and she is expected to be there. Kristie Canegallo, Homeland Security鈥檚 acting deputy secretary, said the department has the 鈥渦tmost confidence" in Cheatle.
The committee chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said 鈥渢he American people have lots of questions and they deserve answers. And this hearing tomorrow will serve as the beginning of that process to get answers for the American people as to what went wrong with an agency that has a no-fail mission.鈥� He told 鈥淔ox News Sunday鈥� that Cheatle should expect about a six-hour hearing with 鈥渉undreds of questions that she鈥檚 going to have to answer and the American people will be watching.鈥�
After the shooting, Cheatle and the female Secret Service agents who protected Trump have faced scathing criticism and questions about whether Cheatle lowered hiring standards. Supporters are adamant that has not happened.
鈥淚t is disrespectful to the women of the Secret Service of the Department of Homeland Security and to women law enforcement officers around the nation to imply that their gender disqualifies them from service to the nation and their communities,鈥� said Canegallo.
Like many law enforcement agencies, the Secret Service has been wrestling with how to attract and retain agents and officers.
Women account for about 24% of the agency鈥檚 staff, according to the agency鈥檚 website. In a May 2023 interview with CBS News, Cheatle said she was conscious of the 鈥渘eed to attract diverse candidates and ensure that we are developing and giving opportunities to everybody in our workforce, and particularly women.鈥�
Two years ago, Cheatle took over the agency of 7,800 special agents, uniformed officers and other staffers whose main purpose is protecting presidents, vice presidents, their families, former presidents and others. In announcing , Biden said Cheatle had served on his vice presidential detail and called her a 鈥渄istinguished law enforcement professional with exceptional leadership skills鈥� who had his "complete trust.鈥�
Cheatle took the reins from James M. Murray as multiple congressional committees and an internal watchdog from when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Secret Service says they were purged during a technology transition.
Going back further, there have been other problems at the Secret Service, including a and a man who jumped over the White House fence in 2014 and made it into the building.
The Homeland Security Department did not make Cheatle available for an interview, but Canegallo defended her work. Canegallo said Cheatle advocated for a law passed this year that authorized overtime pay for Secret Service agents and successfully oversaw nine high-profile events such as political conventions. The agency under her watch protected Biden without problems, Canegallo said.
During the podcast, Cheatle talked about how much planning goes into events that the Secret Service oversees 鈥� from bad weather and COVID-19 to threats of violence.
鈥淚t鈥檚 our job to kind of sit back and 鈥榃hat if?鈥� every potential threat and scenario,鈥� she said.
Cheatle applied for the Secret Service while she was still in college. She was told to wait until she had graduated and said in the podcast that it ultimately took a little over two years to get hired: 鈥淚 was pretty persistent.鈥�
After training, she was assigned to the Detroit office where she spent a little over four years. Cheatle transferred to Washington where she served on the Treasury secretary's detail and protected Vice President Dick Cheney, including on 9/11.
Other positions during her time with the agency include special agent in charge of the Atlanta field office and special agent in charge of the agency鈥檚 training facility in Maryland. She became the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations, the division that provides protection to the president and other dignitaries where she oversaw a $133.5 million budget.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Rep. James Comer appeared on 鈥淔ox News Sunday,鈥� not Fox News Channel's 鈥淪unday Morning Futures.鈥�
Rebecca Santana, The Associated Press
