Editor's Note: On July 23, 2024,  one day after this hearing, Kimberly Cheatle resigned from her post with the Secret Service. 

WASHINGTON — Catholic Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, had never had any long-gun training in his life. He owns an AR-15 but until recently had only ever shot it once six years ago. 

Following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, Fallon and his team recreated the scene in Savoy, Texas. He lay on a sloped roof 130 yards from the paper target at 6:30 at night, mirroring closely the scenario in Butler. He took eight shots with two distinct types of scopes. 

The result was 15 out of 16 kill shots. The one he missed? It hit the target’s ear. 

“That’s a 94% success rate,” he said at the House Oversight Committee meeting Monday morning. “And that shooter was a better shot than me.”

On Monday morning, Democrats and Republicans in the committee linked arms to issue a bipartisan drubbing upon Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle over what many characterized as the worst Secret Service failure in decades. Facing heated scrutiny, Cheatle declined to answer even the most basic questions about the shooting nine days after the fact. Members from both parties were baffled and frustrated by her lack of transparency — many noted that she’d been more forthcoming in an interview with ABC News — causing most to call for her resignation. 

“Americans demand answers,” said Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee. “But they haven’t been getting them from the Secret Service. Americans demand accountability. It shouldn’t take this much time or preparation to tell the truth, Director Cheatle, or to tell Americans the truth.”

In an exchange with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., during which the congressman alluded to the resignation of former Secret Service director Stuart King following an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981, Cheatle pledged to remain at the helm of the Secret Service.  

“I am dedicated to finding the answers to what happened. And like every Secret Service agent, we don’t shirk from our responsibilities,” she said. “I will remain on and be responsible to the agency, to this committee, to the former president and to the American public.”

“Do you really genuinely in your heart believe that you being in this role is what’s right for America at this moment?” Khanna asked. “I mean, do you think there are people who are Trump supporters who have confidence in you? … 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.”

The hearing was marked by back-and-forths in which representatives attempted without success to ascertain details, such as when the Secret Service changed its designation of the shooter Thomas Crooks from “suspicious” to “threatening,” the type of bullets used, and basic information about the chronology of the shooting.

In a moment that drew audible gasps in the room, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., asked Cheatle if she possessed a timeline of events on the night of the shooting.

“I have a timeline that doesn’t have specifics,” Cheatle responded.

Rep. Fallon told the Register: “I am completely unsatisfied with her testimony today and find it shameful that even as the nation desperately seeks answers, she offered nothing but bureaucratic doublespeak. Let’s be clear: The American people demand and deserve answers. Her refusal to answer direct questions is disgraceful and she must resign.”  

One piece of new information that did emerge from the hearing was a rough estimate for when the Secret Service’s internal investigation of the security failure will become public. Cheatle said she hoped a review would be available after about 60 days. The announcement was met with fierce blowback from across the aisle.

“We are currently in the midst of an especially concentrated presidential campaign that is also paired with elections happening across the country in about 100 days,” remarked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. “So the notion of a report coming out in 60 days when the threat environment is so high irrespective of party is not acceptable. This is not theater. This is not about jockeying. This is about the safety of some of the most highly targeted and valued targets. … It has been 10 days since the assassination attempt of a former president of the United States. There need to be answers.”

Perhaps Cheatle’s most damning testimony occurred during the minutes allotted to Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. Using a timeline constructed mostly through news reports, Krishnamoorthi underscored the strangeness and incompetence of the Secret Service’s decision to allow the rally to continue and Trump to go onstage despite being alerted of Crooks and his suspicious behavior. 

“The shooter began shooting at 6:11 p.m. Eastern,” Krisnamoorthi began. “At 5:53 p.m., Secret Service notified snipers about the gunman. The rally wasn’t paused at that point, correct?” he asked. 

“No.”

He then showed a widely circulated video of rallygoers attempting to alert authorities of a man crawling on the roof two minutes before the shooting. 

“That doesn’t look like ‘suspicious’ behavior; that looks like ‘threatening’ behavior to me. And the rally wasn’t paused at that point either, correct?”

“We are currently still combing through communications and when communications were passed,” Cheatle said.

“Well, I can point you to this communication two minutes before the shots were ringing out,” he said, pointing to the screen. “Was there ever a moment the Secret Service considered pausing the rally? The answer is no, correct?”

“I can speak to you in generalities,” she said.

“No, no, I don’t want generalities. I want specifics.”

In addition to these exchanges and bipartisan ire directed at Cheatle, some members in both parties took the opportunity to pursue peripheral issues, such as gun control and opposition to DEI initiatives. 

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., pressed Cheatle to admit that the prevalence of AR-15s makes the Secret Service’s life more difficult, which she refused to do. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., accused Republicans of “exploiting this moment to continue to attack progress towards racial justice and gender equity in America.”

Despite these diversions, the gravity of the security failure remained uppermost in the minds of members following the meeting. 

“The Secret Service is an agency that can’t ever afford to fail,” Rep. Fallon told the Register, “and the attempted assassination of President Trump last Saturday proved to be a monumental, historic failure. Anyone else in her position in any other field would be fired on the spot. Cheatle must be held accountable, and that starts with her firing.”