(The Hill) — Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has been thrust into the national spotlight in recent days after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday.
House Republicans are calling for Cheatle to testify in front of a congressional committee as questions swirl over how a gunman managed to get close enough to the former president to injure him while speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The gunman shot into the rally from a rooftop some 400 feet away, and one of the bullets grazed Trump’s ear.
The Secret Service said that the shooter and one rally attendee were killed, and two other rally attendees were critically injured.
GOP lawmakers are pledging congressional investigations into the shooting, and President Joe Biden has directed an independent review of rally security. Cheatle said in a Monday statement that the Secret Service will “participate fully” in the independent review and work with Congress “on any oversight action.”
Here’s what to know about Cheatle:
When was she sworn in?
Cheatle was sworn in as the Director of the Secret Service in September 2022. She is the 27th director of the Secret Service, where she is responsible for executing the agency’s mission of protection and investigations, according to her biography on the agency’s website.
She leads more than 7,800 special agents, uniformed division officers, technical law enforcement officers and other personnel.
What is her prior experience?
Before taking the reins of the Secret Service in 2022, she served as the senior director for global security at PepsiCo, according to her biography online.
She had previously served in the Secret Service for 27 years before stepping into her role at PepsiCo. She had a number of roles, including serving as the assistant director of protective operations, where she managed a $133.5 million budget and worked across divisions on technologies that aimed to reduce risk to protectees.
Before serving as an assistant director, she was Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office for the agency. Before that, she was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2016 as the Special Agent in Charge of the James J. Rowley Training Center.
When will she testify?
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) invited Cheatle to testify at a hearing on July 22 about the assassination attempt on Trump.
The agency has been under scrutiny in recent days over the incident, with numerous lawmakers demanding answers on what happened. Former Attorney General Bill Barr said Cheatle should be fired for how she handled the fallout from the assassination attempt over the weekend.
What has she said since the shooting?
Cheatle said Monday that the agency will cooperate with investigations about the shooting.
“The Secret Service is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again,” she said.
“We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President Biden yesterday and will participate fully. We will also work with the appropriate Congressional committees on any oversight action,” she added.
