US Secret Service admits failure to protect Trump

US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle admitted on Monday that the agency failed in its mission to prevent the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Cheatle, who is facing calls to resign, said: "We failed."

This came during her testimony before the US House of Representatives Accountability and Oversight Committee.

The senior official considered the attempt to assassinate Trump to be the "most significant operational failure" of the agency in decades.

Cheatle said that the former president's security had increased before the shooting incident, in response to allegations from members of the Republican Party that the Secret Service refused to provide resources to protect Trump.

She continued: "The level of security provided to the former president increased well before the campaign and continues to increase steadily as the threats evolve. Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death."

Monday's hearing represents the first round of congressional oversight regarding the circumstances of the assassination attempt, and FBI Director Christopher Wray will appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Cheatle is resisting calls for her resignation from prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Republican James Comer of the House Oversight Committee also echoed those calls during the hearing.

“I firmly believe, Director Cheatle, that you should resign,” Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said. “The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a massive budget, but it has now become a symbol of incompetence.”