Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigns: What happened to the director in other assassination attempts?
Republicans and Democrats are in rare bipartisan agreement after security failings meant a presidential killing was an ear-width away.
Political pressure following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has submitted her resignation.
Cheatle’s resignation comes after receiving criticism from all sides of a House of Representatives committee during the hearings concerning the actions of the Secret Service for to Donald Trump’s Philadeplhia rally.
“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 an email to her staff.
The secret service and other presidential assassination attempts
The Secret Service was established after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, although not because of it. It’s original role was to investigate counterfeit currency.
The assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 was a pivotal moment that led Congress to request the Secret Service to provide presidential protection. By 1902, the Secret Service had assumed full-time responsibility for this role. An attempt on President Truman’s life in 1950 by Puerto Rican nationalists led to the death of a White House Police officer.
The most recent, and most significant change, happened in 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas to major overhauls in Secret Service procedures. Congress permanently authorised Secret Service protection for the President, their immediate family, vice presidential candidates and nominees.
The assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan highlighted the agency’s response capabilities. Despite the serious nature of the incident, the Secret Service director at the time, Stewart Knight, did not resign.