Amid bipartisan criticism, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle announced her decision to resign Tuesday after the agency failed to prevent a 20-year-old gunman from opening fire on former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in the US state of Pennsylvania earlier this month. During a heated congressional hearing, Cheatle admitted it was the US Secret Service’s (USSS) most shocking failure since President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. While Cheatle appeared committed to retaining her position and promised to investigate the incident, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called for her to step down as her testimony failed to produce confidence in her continued leadership.
Writer and journalist Dan Lazare joined Sputnik’s Political Misfits program Tuesday to discuss the Secret Services' high-profile fumble, as well as US Vice President Kamala Harris’ shot at the White House. Lazare suggested that agency reforms are possible and hinted that Harris is not the Democratic pick Republicans wanted to see. “I'm sure we'll see some [Secret Service] reforms.
No doubt about it. The situation in Pennsylvania was really badly handled,” said Lazare. “They farmed out some responsibilities to the local police and whenever that happens you sort of create a rift, a jurisdictional rift, into which an awful lot of stuff can fall.
” Democratic and Republican leaders announced Tuesday they would set up a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempt on the former pr.