Utah Sen. Mike Lee Demands Secret Service Director ‘Immediately’ Resign

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle needs to resign “immediately” and President Joe Biden should be “mortifiedly embarrassed,” according to Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee, who voiced concerns about a recent “information-free” Secret Service briefing as well as security failures involving the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life.

In a series of posts on Wednesday, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) slammed a recent Secret Service briefing while expressing distrust in the agency’s handling of security threats.

“Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle needs to step down immediately,” he began. 

Emphasizing the lack of substantial information provided during the half-hour conference call, he declared that “Today’s (mostly) information-free briefing only confirmed that.” 

“What little information she gave us was at once deeply troubling and glaringly incomplete,” he added.

Along with Senators Marsha Blackburn and Ted Cruz, Lee noted the attempts to ask questions during the briefing were cut off prematurely, adding that he had never experienced such an abrupt end to a briefing in his 13 years in the Senate.

“So why hold the briefing if they weren’t going to tell us anything?” he asked.

The senator also criticized the Secret Service’s actions regarding former President Trump’s security, especially during Saturday’s rally.

“Why the HELL did Secret Service let Trump walk on stage before resolving the potential threat that they had by then identified?” he asked.

Noting the apparent disregard for additional security requests over the past two years, he questioned the agency’s failure to position an agent on a nearby roof to enhance security.

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“Would Secret Service ever let Joe Biden walk on stage before resolving a specific, known security threat?” he asked.

Warning that Secret Service failures might embolden America’s foreign adversaries and increase assassination attempts, the Utah senator then questioned why President Biden has not taken action against Cheatle and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

“If this incident doesn’t warrant firing some people, what does?” he asked.

He also questioned why Secretary Mayorkas has been largely silent.

“Why have we heard so little from Secretary Mayorkas?” he asked. “Shouldn’t he be anxious to call out and address failures within his own department?”

Sen. Lee concluded by arguing that President Biden should express “outrage” and be ashamed of his administration’s failure to protect his opponent, as it undermines confidence in his leadership and America’s security.

“As for President Biden, if only for purely political reasons, why shouldn’t he be expressing outrage over what happened?” he asked. “Biden should be mortifiedly embarrassed that his own administration failed adequately to protect his opponent—something they had a legal obligation to do.”

The matter follows a Wednesday briefing in which senators learned the Secret Service flagged Thomas Matthew Crooks as suspicious over an hour before he shot at former President Trump. In addition, they were informed that a counter sniper identified him as a potential threat 19 minutes prior, with additional details about the shooter scouting the rally site on two separate occasions.