The director of the Secret Service is stepping down from her job following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump that unleashed intensifying outcry about how the agency tasked with protecting current and former presidents could fail in its core mission. Kimberly Cheatle had served as Secret Service director since August 2022. Cheatle announced her departure in an email sent to staff Tuesday and obtained by The Associated Press. Associated Pressreporter Eric Tucker says Cheatle had faced growing calls to resign and several investigations into how the shooter was able to get so close to the Republican presidential nominee at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania. “On Monday, Cheatle appeared before a House committee to answer questions about the security lapses that preceded the shooting. And I think it was clear that she struggled to answer some pretty basic questions, from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle. She didn't have certain specifics that they were looking for,” Tucker said. Her resignation comes at a complex time for the Secret Service with the upcoming Democratic National Convention taking place in Chicago in August. “So ,what's really interesting is this is a difficult time to have a change in leadership at the Secret Service. There's, of course, a Democratic National Convention in Chicago that's taking place. It's going to require a lot of attention. And there's really ongoing continued scrutiny over the security lapses at the rally in Pennsylvania,” Tucker said.