BREAKING: Secret Service head Kimberly Cheatle resigns after congressional grilling over Trump assassination attempt

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned following mounting pressure for her to do so and a congressional hearing held on Monday. It comes after the USSS failed to properly protect Donald Trump from an assassination attempt on July 13. 

According to two sources who spoke to ABC News, the director has resigned. During the hearing, Cheatle avoided and dodged questions related to the assassination attempt and the various security failures that took place at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally. 

In a letter to USSS for her resignation Cheatle wrote, "As I stated in the hearing yesterday, all of you are worthy of trust and confidence. You deserve the nation's support in carrying out our critical mission. One of my favorite things about this workforce is that the men and women are fiercely committed to our mission.”

The hearing led to a bipartisan call from both Republicans and Democrats to have her step aside from her post at the USSS. In a letter signed by both Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), it read: "Today, you failed to provide answers to basic questions regarding that stunning operational failure and to reassure the American people that the Secret Service has learned its lessons and begun to correct its systemic blunders and failures."

"In the middle of a presidential election, the Committee and the American people demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing. We call on you to resign as Director as a first step to allowing new leadership to swiftly address this crisis and rebuild the trust of a truly concerned Congress and the American people," the letter added. 

Following the hearing, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) announced a task force to investigate the assassination attempt on Trump.

During the hearing, Cheatle had maintained that she was the best person to be head of the USSS at this time. 

When asked by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) if Cheatle would like to draft a resignation letter during the five minutes Mace had for questioning, Cheatle declined at the time. 

Trump made a statement on Truth Social about the assassination attempt after Cheatle's resignation, saying, "The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!"

House GOP Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said in a statement, “The resignation of USSS Director Cheatle is long overdue. The failure to answer basic questions over the last ten days and at yesterday’s Congressional hearing was a disgrace. House Republicans will not rest until we have 100% transparency and accountability.”

Human Events Senior Editor Jack Posobiec said of the resignation, "Her resignation is part of the cover-up They want you to stop asking questions about J13."

Chairman Comer of the House Oversight Committee made a statement in response to the resignation as well, stating, "The Oversight Committee’s hearing resulted in Secret Service Director Cheatle’s resignation and there will be more accountability to come."

A statement from President Joe Biden said, "As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service."

"The independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13 continues, and I look forward to assessing its conclusions. We all know what happened that day can never happen again. As we move forward, I wish Kim all the best, and I will plan to appoint a new Director soon," the White House statement added. 

During her opening statement at the hearing, Cheatle acknowledged that the assassination attempt was the "most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades."