WATCH: Dem Lawmaker Joins Republicans To Demand Secret Service Director Resign Following Trump Assassination Attempt

Following the attempted assassination of 45th President Donald Trump earlier this month, several Republican lawmakers have demanded that US Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle resign her post after failing to protect the former president. During a House Oversight Committee hearing on Monday, a Democrat, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), joined Republicans in demanding that she step down, citing former Secret Service Director Stuart Knight's resignation following the 1981 assassination attempt of Ronald Reagan. 

After incorrectly answering Rep. Khanna's question about former director Stuart Knight's resignation following the Reagan assassination, the California Democrat demanded accountability. "He resigned. And Stuart Knight was not a Democratic appointee or a Republican appointee. Look, I'm not questioning your judgment. I just don't think this is partisan. If you have an assassination attempt on a president, a former president, or a candidate, you need to resign."

"I think you need to reflect. This is not a question of you; it's a question of the American people. You cannot go leading a Secret Service agency when there is an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate. I would say that about anyone who is running," he continued, asking what the difference was between her and Stuart Knight's position. Cheatle responded by saying that she's "dedicated" to staying on the job and getting the answers the American public demands. After Khanna pressed her about her refusal to withdraw, the Secret Service director refused to explain further. 

While Cheatle was unwilling to follow in the footsteps of former Secret Service directors who resigned following an assassination attempt, she did admit that the assassination attempt against President Trump was "the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades." The gunman, positioned on a slanted roof about 150 yards from the rally, was able to fire multiple shots at Trump during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, leading to a bullet hitting the former president's ear and resulting in the death of one supporter in the audience and serious injury to two others. 

Rep. Khanna wasn't the only lawmaker demanding accountability from Cheatle during the hearing. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said that the USSS director was "full of sh*t" for refusing to answer lawmakers' questions about the shooting. "You're being dishonest here with this committee. These are important questions that the American people want answers to and you're just dodging and talking around it in generalities," the South Carolina lawmaker said. "We had to subpoena you to be here, and you won't even answer the questions. We have asked you repeatedly to answer our questions. This isn't hard. These are not hard questions."

WATCH:

REP. KHANNA: "You know what Stuart Knight did after [Regan's assassination attempt]?"

CHEATLE: "He remained on duty."

REP. KHANNA: "He resigned. He resigned." pic.twitter.com/WbmJ4I6FBv

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 22, 2024

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