US Secret Service Director resigns after Trump assassination attempt

Director of the US Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle has resigned after an assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

Cheatle's resignation comes a day after she was grilled by a House committee over the attempted shooting of the Republican presidential nominee at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.

At the hearing Cheatle refused to resign over the incident which saw Trump narrowly escape with his life after a shooter opened fire, injuring Trump and killing one attendee.

The assassination attempt raised enormous questions as to how the shooter Thomas Crooks was able to get to a rooftop around 200 yards from Trump that had a clear view over the president.

Serious concerns have been raised about the process of securing the site at which the rally was held, as well as how the incident was handled at the time.

Among those who raised concerns was senator Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who drew attention to the size of the perimeter around Trump and the range of the weapon Crooks used.

Cheatle confirmed that the building form which Crooks fired was about 200 yards from Trump.

Cheatle has resigned as director of the Secret Service. (Kent Nishimura via Getty Images)

Ocasio-Cortez said: "The individual used an AR-15 in order to act on his assassination attempt.

"An AR-15 has a range of about four to 600 yards. My question is, why is the Secret Service protective perimeter shorter than one of the most popular semiautomatic weapons in the United States?"

Replying to AOC, Cheatle said that there are a 'number of weapons out there with a number of ranges'.

She added that the Secret Service had taken account of a number of factors before laying out the security perimeter for the event.

Cheatle has now announced her resignation in an email which was circulated to staff.

Her departure comes amid growing calls for her resignation as criticism of the Secret Service's handling of the assassination attempt mounted.

Questions were raised as to how the shooter got so close. (Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images)

Ocasio-Cortez was among those to call for Cheatle's resignation, writing on Twitter: "Why was the Secret Service's protective perimeter in Butler shorter than the range of an AR-15? It does not take 60 days to answer that question.

"The agency's failure to publicly account for these questions and others from Congress is unacceptable. Dir. Cheatle should resign."

The Democrat was among a number of lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee from both parties to call for Cheatle to resign.

Calls for Cheatle's resignation created a rare moment of unity across the aisle, with Trump supporters publicly backing Ocasio-Cortez in her calls for Cheatle to step down.

Cheatle first took on the role of the director of the Secret Service back in 2022.

Investigations into the attempted assassination continue.