Staff Reports
It appears the U.S. Secret Service couldn’t dodge the heat in the kitchen when their director, Kimberly Cheatle, faced a panel of lawmakers about a recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The questions came fast and furious during her congressional testimony, and it’s fair to say Cheatle wasn’t getting a good old-fashioned bipartisan hug from either side of the aisle. Instead, she was met with a serious grilling that showcased concerns over her agency’s notable security failure, especially at a time when Trump was trying to rally his supporters in Pennsylvania.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made quite a spectacle of herself, clearly showing she should have been taking notes in “How to Make a Point Without Losing Your Mind 101.” She particularly objected to Cheatle’s outrageous claim that it would take a whole 60 days to produce an initial report on the assassination attempt. A gunslinger clocking his 60-day timeline amidst the chaos of an election year is a bold move, considering the influx of threats that could emerge faster than a bad movie sequel.
Even AOC slams USSS Director Cheatle: "Saying a report will be done in 60 days before any real decisions are made is just not okay. It's been 10 days since a former president was targeted in an assassination attempt. We need some answers."
Where is Joe Biden
Beyoncé and Taylor… pic.twitter.com/MGXEVUOVdk— Sophie Rain Thread 🔥❤️ (@SophieRainForum) July 22, 2024
As Cheatle sat before the committee, she faced bipartisan cries for her resignation, which only underscored the gravity of her predicament. She finally stepped down after realizing that her retirement would surely come with fewer harrowing press conferences and exasperated lawmakers. While Ocasio-Cortez might be known for her wild rhetoric, she had some conservatives actually giving her a nod for holding Cheatle’s feet to the fire on a subject that everyone agreed was critical: the safety of a former president during a high-stakes campaign season.
The plot thickened when AOC turned her attention to the rather puny security perimeter during Trump’s rally, noting that the assassin’s weapon of choice was an AR-15, capable of hitting its target from over 600 yards away. Using her typical flair for drama, the congresswoman questioned why the Secret Service had established a protective perimeter not worthy of a kindergartener’s safety zone. The irony of a Secret Service perimeter being less secure than a target range for target practice would have most Americans shaking their heads.
Rather than stepping up and admitting to major blunders, Cheatle offered typical bureaucratic jargon about how various weapons factors into their security plans. However, that didn’t fly, as AOC pointed out that, clearly, their plans did not account for a particular weapon’s lethal capabilities. As she made her case for a more transparent agency, one could almost hear the collective eye-roll from conservatives who are well acquainted with empty political promises.
In the end, as Cheatle departed from her post, a question still loomed large: would the Secret Service rise to new heights of competency to restore Americans’ faith in their ability to protect high-profile individuals? Or would they remain trapped in a bureaucratic quagmire, only seen when there’s a scandal to witness? The stakes couldn’t be higher, yet in typical fashion, it seems that for some, breaking records for inefficiency has become the new standard operating procedure.
