5 highlights from contentious House hearing with Secret Service Dir. over Trump assassination attempt: 'DEI horror story'
'I am completely disgusted by your performance today'
'DEI horror story'
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., blasted Cheatle as a "DEI horror story" and said she should not be allowed to resign, but instead be fired.
Rep. Burchett completely obliterated Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle:
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 22, 2024
“I don't think you should resign. I think you should have been fired. Mam, you are a DEI horror story." pic.twitter.com/jeA5Fvei2e
Burchett asked why Trump had been permitted to take the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, despite the USSS identifying the shooter as suspicious 10 minutes before. He also noted how other law enforcement had been watching him for nearly an hour before the shooting.
"That seems to me to be the worst thing of all," Burchett said. "Of all the breakdown in all this — communication, all the BS you've been feeding us here today, or not feeding us — that seems to be the question."
Burchett also asked if Cheatle was waiting for the green light from the Biden administration before releasing the results of her agency's investigation.
"No, I am waiting for the results of the investigation," she said.
"Miss Cheatle, you said that 'The buck stops with me,' and I agree," Burchett said. "I don’t think you should resign. I think you should have been fired. Ma'am, you are a DEI horror story."
Cheatle later pushed back against the idea that the assassination attempt was the result of DEI.
"The incident on [July 13th] has nothing to do with DEI," she said. "The incident on the 13th has to do with a failure or a gap either in planning or communication."
Cheatle has faced scrutiny for her pledge to increase the amount of female Secret Service personnel to 30% by 2030.
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to [email protected]