Head of Secret Service resigns after Donald Trump assassination attempt

The head of the Secret Service has resigned after a failed assassination attempt on the life of Donald Trump.

Kimberly Cheatle told staff in an email on Tuesday that she would be stepping down from her role as director.

It comes after she had faced calls to quit over the agency's handling of the former president's security protocols at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month.

Trump, 78, was the target of the gunman - Thomas Matthew Crooks - and suffered an injury to his right ear.

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The attack also left one person dead and a further two seriously injured.

"I take full responsibility for the security lapse," Ms Cheatle said in an email to staff.

"In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director."

On Monday, Ms Cheatle called the attempt on Trump's life the "most significant operational failure" for the Secret Service in decades.

She told a congressional hearing the agency had "failed" to protect Trump, but remained defiant when asked if she would resign.

Ms Cheatle acknowledged the agency was told five times about a person acting suspiciously at the Trump rally, and that the roof from which Crooks carried out his attack had been identified as a vulnerability days beforehand.

But she failed to address questions related to on-the-day security protocols, saying she could not comment until an ongoing investigation had concluded.

The attack on Trump was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.

Ms Cheatle had served as Secret Service director since August 2022 and was only the second woman to lead the agency.

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