2024-07-26 17:15:55
Kimberly Cheatle babysat Bill Clinton and Dick Cheney, but fell victim to the security scandal following the assassination attempt on the Republican presidential nominee
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who became the scapegoat after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and resigned, is a veteran of the Secret Service and only the second woman to head the agency since Julia Pearson, whom Barack Obama appointed in 2013.
Over the years, Cheatle was responsible for the security of former US President Bill Clinton, as well as the spouse of the most powerful vice president in American history, Dick Cheney – the vice president of George W. Bush during his 8-year reign at the head of the White House. The American joined the Secret Service in 1995 and spent more than two decades there. Retires in 2021 to lead North American security operations for an international soft drinks company. However, Cheatle is returning to the agency in 2022 after President Joe Biden wants her to be its director. Thus becoming the 27th head of the Secret Service. “She has my full confidence,” the Democrat said at the time of her appointment. The American earned that trust while serving as Biden’s head of security when he was Obama’s vice president. “Jill and I know firsthand Kim’s dedication to her work and to the people and mission of the Secret Service. We came to trust Kim’s judgment and advice. She is
distinguished professional in law enforcement with outstanding leadership skills
and was the best choice to lead the agency at a critical time for the Secret Service,” Biden said.
Kimberly has been at the helm of the Secret Service for 22 months, overseeing more than 7,800 special agents, uniformed officers and other agency personnel. Under her leadership, the ranks of the Secret Service have grown, leading some officials to worry that the focus on hiring more people with diverse backgrounds is somewhat hindering the agency’s work. However, former colleagues of Cheatle, 53, describe her as a capable candidate for the job.
During the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, he was part of the team that took Dick Cheney to a secure bunker.
The American grew up in the state of Illinois. He graduated from a Catholic high school in Danville – about 200 km south of Chicago. He studied sociology with a minor in criminal justice at Eastern Illinois University, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1992. Even before graduating
applies for a job as an agent in the Secrets services, but not accepted
Her desire to join the Secret Service had a tragic beginning – in 1988, Kimberly’s brother died in a car accident. His dream was to become part of a law enforcement agency, and just before his death he began his training to become a police officer. The conversations between the two about their career development before the sudden death marked the beginning of Kimberly’s ambitions, as in an interview from m.y. she recounts, “I probably work in law enforcement today as a direct result of my brother.” Two years after her failed attempt to become an agent, she was accepted into a Secret Service field office in Detroit. That’s how he began his career, working on investigations of financial crimes, including bank fraud and forgery.
After nearly 5 years in Detroit, she was promoted and became part of Dick Cheney’s bodyguard. Since then, she has been climbing the career ladder headlong, but when she left the Secret Service in 2021, she had no idea that just a year later she would become the head of the agency.
That is until this Tuesday, when he resigned after the scandal surrounding Donald Trump’s security during his rally in Pennsylvania, where he was injured in the ear. In a statement, Cheatle said he was leaving the Secret Service “with a heavy heart” and taking responsibility for the agency’s failure. She specified that she did not want calls for her resignation to negatively affect the work of Secret Service agents. Biden thanked Cheatle for her service at the agency: “She selflessly dedicated herself and risked her life to protect our nation throughout her career with the United States Secret Service,” the Democrat said, adding that he would soon appoint a new Secret Service chief. .
Just a day before she resigned, Cheatle came under intense questioning from the House of Representatives, where both Republicans and Democrats called for her to step down. The director inflamed bipartisanship by refusing to answer questions about how the shooter had the opportunity to kill Trump. Cheatle admitted there were serious security problems at the rally, but then dismissed calls for his resignation.