Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming also followed Cheatle, and another person could be heard saying that Cheatle was “stonewalling” the senators about what happened on Saturday.
“It is appalling that the Secret Service Director refused to answer our questions,” Blackburn said in a statement. “This is one of the greatest security failures in the history of the agency. She can run but she cannot hide. She is a failed leader and she needs to immediately step down from her position.”
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement afterward that Cheatle does not intend to step down. “She deeply respects members of Congress and is fiercely committed to transparency in leading the Secret Service through the internal investigation and strengthening the agency through lessons learned in these important internal and external reviews.”
Since the rally shooting in Butler, Pa., which left one man dead, Cheatle has faced mounting calls for her resignation, including from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). She has taken responsibility for her agency’s failure to prevent the attack but has said she will not resign.
“The buck stops with me,” Cheatle told ABC News earlier this week. “I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary.”
Her public dressing-down by a group of U.S. senators at the GOP convention reflected the deep breach between top Republican officials and the agency, which is charged with the protection of the country’s leaders.
The tense confrontation lasted about four minutes, according to onlookers, as the senators trailed Cheatle, who walked swiftly away from them without speaking. It played out as speakers several floors below gave remarks on the third night of the GOP gathering.
The incident began when the senators confronted the Secret Service director in a luxury suite at the arena, where she was watching the event. At least one Trump adviser appeared to be with the group of lawmakers.
Cheatle tried to leave the box after the senators berated her for about two minutes, saying she would answer questions later. Cheatle said she would leave the box so others could watch the festivities. “We’re going with you!” Barrasso could be heard yelling. Other senators on the ground included Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, according to a longer version of the video posted on X by Blackburn.
One GOP aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe what led to the encounter, said it was precipitated by frustration among Republican senators about a closed-door briefing that lawmakers received Wednesday from federal officials.
“A number of senators caught wind that she was present here at the forum in a suite and after not having their questions answered earlier today during the briefing, they thought, ‘Let’s go up and [ask] some questions,’” the aide said. “She refused to answer questions and started running away, and they followed her.”
Anger has risen in the GOP since Saturday’s assassination attempt on Trump, with Republicans demanding answers from the Secret Service about how a shooter got on top of a building about 150 yards away during the rally and had a clear shot at the former president.
Trump’s team has also clashed with the Secret Service in recent months over security arrangements, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Cheatle met with a number of Trump advisers earlier this week, they said.
Trump advisers have complained privately for days that the Secret Service should have secured the building where the gunman was perched Saturday, but Trump has not wanted to publicly criticize the department, partially because he trusts his detail and credits them with getting him off the stage safely, people who have spoken to him said.
