The U.S. Secret Service has decided not to renew former Director Kimberly Cheatle’s top-level security clearance, following her resignation after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump in July 2024. This decision comes amid intense scrutiny over the agency’s security lapses that allowed the attack to occur, with several Republican lawmakers criticizing her leadership. Cheatle resigned shortly after the incident, accepting full responsibility for the agency’s failure to prevent the attack.
The Secret Service, along with the CIA and FBI, regularly updates security clearances for former directors. However, under the current Director Sean Curran, the agency has determined that not all former directors will have their clearances renewed. This policy shift is part of a broader effort to modernize the agency’s intelligence apparatus and ensure that only those who meet the highest standards of trust and operational integrity are granted continued access to classified information.
Republican lawmakers have played a significant role in this decision, with Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., arguing that Cheatle’s leadership decisions were a contributing factor to the agency’s numerous failures surrounding the assassination attempt. Johnson, who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, had probed the Secret Service’s failures leading up to the Butler incident. In a statement to RealClearPolitics, he emphasized the need for accountability, stating, “Following the security debacle in Butler, the former director of USSS made the right decision to resign. I see no reason for her security clearance to be reinstated.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also called for Cheatle’s clearance to be revoked, asserting that her actions disgraced the agency by failing to prevent a historic security failure. Blackburn criticized Cheatle for stonewalling congressional oversight and avoiding accountability. “Kim Cheatle disgraced the Secret Service by failing to prevent a horrifying attempt on President Trump’s life,” she stated. “Not only did she oversee one of the greatest security failures in our nation’s history, but she also stonewalled congressional oversight and ran away from my colleagues and me when we confronted her. Under no circumstances should she be allowed to regain her security clearance, and it is shameful she would even try.”
Cheatle’s resignation occurred just 10 days after the assassination attempt, as she faced mounting pressure from Republicans over the security lapse. In a letter to the agency, she acknowledged the agency’s failure and expressed regret over the incident. “On July 13th, we fell short on that mission,” she wrote. “As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse.”
Despite her resignation, allegations against Cheatle persist, including claims by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who chairs the Homeland Security Committee. Paul accused her of lying in her testimony to Congress after the shooting, alleging that she denied requests for additional resources for Trump’s security. Cheatle pushed back on these claims, stating that any implication of misleading testimony was false and misleading. “Any assertion or implication that I provided misleading testimony is patently false and does a disservice to those men and women on the front lines who have been unfairly disciplined for a team, rather than individual, failure,” she responded in a statement provided by her attorney.
These developments mark a significant moment for the Secret Service as it continues to rebuild its reputation and address ongoing security concerns. The agency’s decision to revoke Cheatle’s clearance reflects a broader trend of reevaluating past leadership under heightened scrutiny, particularly in light of the highly publicized and tragic events in Butler, Pennsylvania. As the Secret Service moves forward, the implications of this decision may extend beyond individual accountability, raising questions about the agency’s internal culture, oversight mechanisms, and the balance between operational discretion and transparency.