The director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, has belatedly resigned after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. But more accountability is required. Cheatle’s boss, the secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, must also resign.
Cheatle was grilled by lawmakers on Monday, with Republicans and Democrats calling for her resignation. Cheatle, however, stonewalled and punted on most of the questions. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) was among the lawmakers calling for her resignation. “The evidence coming to light has shown unacceptable operational failures,” Boyle said in a statement. “I have no confidence in the leadership of the United States Secret Service if Director Cheatle chooses to remain in her position.”
The bipartisan onslaught was not one that Cheatle could withstand.
A full investigation of the attempted assassination is underway, but it seems clear that inexcusable mistakes were made. Credible reports suggest that the Secret Service was undermanned at the event, that Trump’s campaign had requested additional staffing but was denied, that Thomas Matthew Crooks used both a rangefinder and a drone to scout out the rally grounds in advance, and that he used a ladder to climb up the roof of a building that itself was occupied by law enforcement.
The attempted assassination of a presidential candidate and former president is, to put it mildly, a big deal. It’s the sort of seismic event that would likely lead to parliamentary governments falling in other Western countries. And it demands nothing less than the resignation of a Cabinet-level official. Cheatle’s resignation will not suffice. Her superior, Mayorkas, should resign as well.
As head of the Department of Homeland Security, Mayorkas oversees the Secret Service, among other agencies. DHS was created in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and is the federal executive agency tasked with public security, its duties including anti-terrorism, border security, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management, among other responsibilities. It is unacceptable, post-July 13, for Mayorkas to remain in such an office. Significant measures to restore the public trust must be taken.
The last president to be shot was Ronald Reagan, who was wounded by John Hinckley in 1981. And the last candidate for the presidency to be shot was George Wallace, who was shot and paralyzed in 1972. The tragedy of July 13 is historic. A Cabinet official must answer for it.
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Several members of Congress have previously demanded Mayorkas’s resignation, citing his failure to secure the border, among other discrepancies.
Unfortunately, the public has witnessed a historic lack of accountability in recent years. No major officials resigned or were fired over the Afghanistan withdrawal, the COVID-19 response, and other recent disasters. Yet accountability is essential to the social contract between the governed and the government; it is a hallmark of democracies, something that makes them stand out when compared to totalitarian systems. That must change. Now is a good time to start.
The writer is a Washington, D.C.-based foreign affairs analyst. His views are his own.