Four senators took it upon themselves to confront Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at the Republican National Convention. They demanded that she either "resign tonight or start answering our questions."
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GOP Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, and James Lankford of Oklahoma confronted the Secret Service director. They then chased Cheatle through the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
"Every one of us had questions that we wanted to ask. We thought we didn't get any of the responses that were necessary," said Barrasso. "Either you resign tonight or start answering our questions right now about the death threat to President Trump and allowing him to go on stage."
The entire incident was caught on tape. Cheatle refused to answer the senators' questions.
?FULL VIDEO: Secret Service Director REFUSES to answer to the American people. pic.twitter.com/MPVOke5zhY
— Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) July 18, 2024
Cheatle attempted to flee away from the senators, but they followed her at a brisk pace. They complained they were unable to get the answers to questions they needed despite a half-hour brief. They said they were stuck in a queue. Blackburn wanted to know why the Secret Service would "allow the president to go on stage when you know that you've got a potential threat."
"I don't think that this is the forum to have this discussion," Cheatle shot back. "This hospitality suite is actually to thank the partners who have helped secure the Republican National Convention."
"I would not want to take away from [that]," she went on. "I am happy to answer questions. We will do it in an appropriate format."
Senators Confront Secret Service
However, the senators demanded answers right then and there. When Cheatle tried to leave, they followed still demanding answers to their questions. "This was an assassination attempt, you owe the people answers. You owe President Trump answers," Blackburn said.
"It is appalling that the Secret Service director refused to answer our questions. This is one of the greatest security failures in the history of the agency. She can run but she cannot hide. She is a failed leader and she needs to immediately step down from her position," Blackburn later said in a statement to The New York Post.
Likewise, Barrasso yelled at Cheatle, "You cannot run away from your responsibility to the United States."
Meanwhile, the Secret Service director has no intentions to step down. Secret Service representative Anthony Guglielmi said, "Cheatle has no intentions to step down." He continued, "She deeply respects members of Congress and is fiercely committed to transparency in leading the Secret Service through the internal investigation and strengthening the agency through lessons learned in these important internal and external reviews."
