Iranian threats should be 'baked into' Trump's security detail, says congressman

US Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle faces congressional scrutiny after attempted assassination of Republican former president

US representatives James Comer and Jim Jordan listen as Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before Congress in Washington. Getty Images / AFP

A Republican congressman on Monday criticised the director of the US Secret Service over claims that the agency did not adequately consider threats from Iran against Donald Trump.

In a contentious hearing after the attempted assassination of Mr Trump, Kimberly Cheatle admitted the agency “failed” after a gunman, 20, opened fire at a Trump rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.

One person attending the rally was killed and two critically wounded, while a bullet grazed the Republican presidential candidate's ear.

Ms Cheatle also said that the agency had not found evidence that the attack was directed or perpetrated by a foreign entity.

Congressman Mike Turner, a Republican from Ohio, grilled Ms Cheatle over increased threats from Iran against Mr Trump.

Mr Turner said he was “shocked that the threat assessment of Iran did not seem to be baked into your security footprint and your threat assessment”.

“It is known and public that Iran is a threat risk for Donald Trump … they have indicated they wanted to assassinate him as a result of retaliation for the killing of Suleimani,” he said.

He was referring to the death of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force leader Qassem Suleimani in a US air strike on Baghdad in January 2020.

Mr Turner sarcastically asked if Ms Cheatle believes “Iran or ISIS is a bigger threat than a 20 year old”.

Ms Cheatle said she believed that Mr Trump's security was sufficient for the “specific and generalised threats to [his] life from Iran”.

“I think we've acknowledged that there was gaps and a failure that day,” Ms Cheatle conceded.

White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said officials have been tracking Iranian threats against Trump administration officials for years.

“These threats arise from Iran’s desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qassem Suleimani,” Ms Watson said in a statement last week.

"We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority."

After reports of the threat from Tehran against Mr Trump, Iran's mission to the UN told The National that the accusations were “unsubstantiated and malicious”.

'You look incompetent'

Several members of Congress have called on Ms Cheatle to resign over the assassination attempt – and on Monday they criticised her over the lack of security on the rooftop of the building from which the gunman fired.

“How can a 20 year old with his father's AR-15 assault weapon climb on to a roof with a direct 150-yard line of sight to the speaker's podium without the Secret Service or local police stopping him?” asked committee ranking member Jamie Raskin.

Mr Turner said: “Because Donald Trump is alive, and thank God he is, you look incompetent.

"If Donald Trump had been killed, you would have looked culpable. There is no aspect of this that indicates that there has been any protection to Donald Trump.”

Ms Cheatle repeatedly took responsibility for the failure and said the agency “is going to look into how this happened”.

“And we are going to take corrective action to ensure that it never happens again,” she said.

Ms Cheatle also faced difficult questions from Democrats over the widespread prevalence of guns in American society.

The Democratic Party has long sought to crack down on ease of access to guns, including on the AR-15-style weapons used by Mr Trump's would-be assassin.

Mr Trump's Republican Party has generally worked to protect and expand Americans' access to guns.

About four in 10 US adults say they live in a household with a gun, including 32 per cent who say they own one, according to a 2023 survey published by Pew Research.

The same survey found that an even split of Americans believe personal gun ownership increases or decreases public safety: at 49-49 each.

Congressman Gerry Connolly became frustrated in a heated exchange with Ms Cheatle when she refused to directly answer whether guns being permitted to circulate among the civilian population complicated the Secret Service's responsibility.

Ms Cheatle eventually responded that she understands “the Second Amendment right [to bear arms]” and that she believes “the job of the Secret Service is difficult every day and we need to make sure that we're mitigating all threats”.

Mr Connelly said that she had shown herself to be unwilling to give fully answer the question.

“And you wonder why we might have a lack of confidence in your continued ability to direct this agency?”