Secret Service director steps down amid resignation calls after Trump assassination attempt

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has stepped down after widespread calls by lawmakers for her to resign following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13, three sources told NBC News.

An official announcement on her resignation is expected later this morning, two law enforcement sources said.

Cheatle’s resignation comes a day after she faced questions from angry lawmakers from both parties exasperated over the Secret Service’s failure to protect Trump.

Her responses, however, didn’t satisfy the leaders of the House Oversight Committee that held the hearing Monday. 

“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,” Chairman James Comer R-Ky., and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., wrote in a joint letter to Cheatle hours after the hearing endedThe two members said that the committee and American people “demand serious institutional accountability and transparency that you are not providing,” especially during a presidential election year.  

“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,” they wrote.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.