Who is Kimberly Cheatle? Meet under-fire Secret Service Director who is facing scrutiny after Donald Trump assassination attempt

Serious questions are being asked of nan Secret Service complete their handling of nan Pennsylvania rally wherever erstwhile president Donald Trump was astir killed by a shooter. 

Trump was changeable successful nan receptor astir 10 minutes aft he took to nan shape adjacent Butler, successful nan southwest of nan state, connected Saturday. 

The shooter, identified arsenic 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service sniper, aft he fired respective shots astatine those attending nan rally, injuring 2 much group and sidesplitting 1 person. 

But nan full business whitethorn person been avoidable, pinch 1 eyewitness claiming they warned rule enforcement that they had spotted a man equipped pinch a firearm crawling on a adjacent rooftop. 

The head of nan 159-year-old agency, Kimberly Cheatle, has already been called to look earlier nan House Oversight Committee to beryllium grilled complete her organisation's handling of nan Butler shooting. 

Cheatle's 2022 assignment was already controversial, and nan near-death of nan erstwhile president has only compounded fears that she whitethorn beryllium nan incorrect female for nan job. 

But who precisely is Kimberly Cheatle? MailOnline takes a look astatine nan existent head of nan Secret Service. 

Early Career 

Cheatle joined nan Secret Service successful 1995 and worked her measurement up nan ranks while having to protect governmental leaders successful immoderate of nan astir pivotal moments successful modern American history.

She was progressive successful evacuating erstwhile vice-president Dick Cheney during nan September 11th attacks successful 2001. 

The rule enforcement charismatic graduated from nan agency's elder executive work programme, and ended up moving arsenic nan lawman adjunct head for nan Office of Training successful nan agency. 

There, she 'revolutionized nan measurement training astatine nan Secret Service was delivered by implementing a regional, in-service training programme', according to Security Magazine. 

She was past tasked pinch supervising Joe Biden's information item erstwhile he was vice-president during nan Obama administration, from 2009 to 2017. 

Following her clip pinch Biden, she was past made adjunct head of Protective Operations, a section pinch a astir $134million fund that intends to 'research, create and deploy technologies that trim risks to protectees, protected facilities, and protected events', according to nan Secret Service's website. 

Having spent complete 2 decades successful nan Secret Service, she near to subordinate PepsiCo arsenic its elder head of world security, wherever she was successful complaint of processing information protocols for nan multinational's sites successful North America. 

She said of her clip there: 'I for illustration having divers assignments and aggregate things connected my plate. I thrive connected chaos.'

While she was astatine PepsiCo, she was awarded a Presidential Rank Award for 'exceptional performance' by Joe Biden.  

Current Service  

Biden cited her work successful his information item erstwhile he appointed her to nan caput of nan agency successful precocious 2022. She is only nan 2nd ever female to lead nan Secret Service successful its full history. 

He said astatine nan time: 'Jill and I cognize firsthand Kim’s committedness to her occupation and to nan Secret Service’s group and mission. 

'When Kim served connected my information item erstwhile I was Vice President, we came to spot her judgement and counsel. 

'She is simply a distinguished rule enforcement master pinch exceptional activity skills, and was easy nan champion prime to lead nan agency astatine a captious infinitesimal for nan Secret Service. 

'She has my complete trust, and I look guardant to moving pinch her.'

Cheatle took power of nan agency astatine a clip erstwhile it was rocked by respective scandals related to missing texts to and from its agents connected January 6 2021, erstwhile nan US Capital was stormed by convulsive anti-Biden protestors. 

The agency's genitor organisation, nan Department of Homeland Security, has been accused of not cooperating pinch House committees investigating nan attack. 

On apical of this, location person respective instances complete nan past 10 years of drunken behaviour and deals pinch activity workers by Service agents during and up of overseas trips, arsenic good arsenic failures to forestall obstruction jumpers from getting into nan onshore nan White House sits on. 

One peculiarly embarrassing infinitesimal saw a mates sneak into a authorities meal astatine nan White House successful 2009.

The couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi of Virginia, managed to sneak into nan receiving statement successful nan Blue Room, arsenic Barack and Michelle Obama greeted nan invited 400 guests. 

The mates were seen opinionated adjacent to nan then-prime curate of India, Manmohan Singh. 

What does Cheatle look now? 

All of nan Secret Service's failures complete nan past decade were brought backmost into nan spotlight complete nan weekend, and arsenic nan caput of nan agency, Cheatle faces terrible scrutiny. 

The agency was forced to contradict a declare by Florida typical Mike Waltz that Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas many times denied requests to summation nan Secret Service's protections. 

Anthony Guglielmi, main of communications for nan Secret Service, said connected X: 'There’s an untrue assertion that a personnel of nan erstwhile president’s squad requested further information resources & that those were rebuffed. This is perfectly false. 

'In fact, we added protective resources & exertion & capabilities arsenic portion of nan accrued run recreation tempo.'

Even so, Cheatle is expected to beryllium held accountable for nan alleged failures successful Pennsylvania complete nan weekend. 

On July 22, she will beryllium dragged successful beforehand of nan House Oversight Committee to be a hearing. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson said connected X connected Sunday: 'The House will behaviour a afloat investigation of nan tragic events.

'The American group merit to cognize nan truth. We will person Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and different due officials from DHS and nan FBI look for a proceeding earlier our committees ASAP.'