Cheatle May Face Impeachment Vote Within Hours

Rep. Nancy Mace's privileged motion accuses Secret Service director of dereliction of duty
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 23, 2024 7:00 AM CDT
Cheatle May Face Impeachment Vote Within Hours
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing on Capitol Hill, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, who accused Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle of being "full of s---" during her testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, later filed a motion of impeachment. Cheatle "has been derelict in her duty to well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office to which she holds," Mace said on the House floor late Monday, per ABC News. In a post on X, the Republican from South Carolina said the privileged motion "will force a vote within the next 48 hours." The motion forces leadership to respond within two legislative days, per the Hill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson hasn't said how he'll respond to the motion. Lawmakers could "try to pigeonhole it for now by sending it to committee or setting it aside," reports Politico. If the motion does come to a vote, Republicans would need almost total unity to get it passed without help from Democrats. However, some Democrats have joined with Republicans in calling for Cheatle's resignation a little over a week after the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

During Monday's hearing, Cheatle admitted the shooting that killed one person and injured several others, Trump among them, was a colossal failure for the agency and could have been prevented. Earlier Monday, GOP Rep. Greg Steube said he would file an article of impeachment against Cheatle "for her dereliction of duty as it relates to the assassination attempt on President Trump's life." "Every supervisor in that chain of command should be fired immediately and that starts with the director," he said, per the Hill. He also claimed Cheatle, who aimed to increase the number of female agents, "chose to focus on the gender of recruits instead of their fitness for the job." (More Trump rally shooting stories.)

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