Director of the US Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, has stepped down after calls for her resignation began to grow following the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Cheatle’s resignation comes a day after she faced questions from angry lawmakers who dubbed the Secret Service’s failure to protect Trump as incompetent.
“In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director,” Cheatle wrote in her letter obtained by newsmen.
In the announcement, which is yet to be made public, the director said the agency “fell short” of its mission to “to protect our nation’s leaders”.
In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and First Lady Jill Biden are “grateful” for Ms Cheatle’s decades of public service.
“As a leader, it takes honour, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organisation tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service,” Mr Biden said of Ms Cheatle.
Biden said he would appoint a new director soon.
The Nation / Emmanuel Dada
