Secret Service Director Calls Trump Shooting ‘Most Serious Security Lapse Since Reagan in 1981’

The failed assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump is the “most serious” security lapse since then-President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle conceded to lawmakers on Monday.

Cheatle made this admission during her testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee regarding the attempted assassination of Trump. She was questioned by lawmakers, including Indian American Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Ro Khanna.

Khanna called for Cheatle’s resignation. “If you have an assassination attempt on a president, a former president, or a candidate, you need to resign,” Khanna said, noting that Stewart Knight, the Secret Service head in 1981, had resigned following the Reagan incident. “You cannot lead a Secret Service agency when there is an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate.”

In response to a question from Khanna, Cheatle acknowledged, “Yes, sir, I would,” when asked if the incident was the most serious security lapse since Reagan was shot in 1981. She also stated to Congresswoman Virginia Fox: “I have taken accountability, and I will continue to take accountability. I am responsible for leading the agency and finding the answers to how this event occurred and ensuring it doesn’t happen again.” Cheatle informed Krishnamoorthi that the incident was under investigation.

Krishnamoorthi questioned Cheatle about the timeline of the Secret Service’s response, noting that NBC reported the Secret Service notified its snipers about the gunman at 5:53 pm, two minutes after shots were fired, yet the rally wasn’t paused. Cheatle confirmed this timeline and admitted there was no action taken immediately against the gunman on the roof.

“We are currently still combing through communications and when they were passed,” she said. When asked by Krishnamoorthi if there was ever a moment when the Secret Service considered pausing the rally, Cheatle replied, “The Secret Service would have paused the rally had they known or been told there was an actual threat.”

Cheatle explained to Congressman James Cooper that the building from which the shooter fired was outside the security perimeter on the day of the visit. “We are still looking into the advanced process and the decisions that were made,” she said. “That is one of the things we want to review during the investigation to determine if other decisions should have been made.”

The Secret Service has admitted to denying some requests by Trump’s campaign for increased security at his events in the years leading up to the assassination attempt. The attack on Trump marks the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Reagan was shot in 1981 and is part of a series of security lapses by the agency that have drawn investigations and public scrutiny over the years.