Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle — under fire over the Pennsylvania assassination attempt against President Trump — won’t have her top-level security clearance renewed, The Post has learned.
The Secret Service decided not to extend Chealte’s clearance after opposition from Republicans in Congress, namely Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
“Director [Sean] Curran has been modernizing the intelligence apparatus within the agency,” a spokesperson told The Post. “During that process, he has determined that not all former directors will have their clearances renewed.”
The decision to end Cheatle’s security clearance came after RealClearPolitics inquired about Johnson’s opposition to renewal, claimed the outlet, which was the first to report the change.
Johnson, who helms the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, had probed the Secret Service’s failures leading up to the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pa.
He had been fiercely critical of Cheatle, who led the agency from 2022 to 2024, before resigning about 10 days after a bullet grazed the president’s right ear during a rally in July of last year.
“The U.S. Secret Service sponsors security clearances for all the former directors for their knowledge of operational and national security matters,” a Secret Service spokesperson explained.
“The purpose for this was so the agency could maintain formal and protected communication, including potentially sensitive and classified matters with former officials.”
Trump later tapped Curran, who previously led his detail, to helm the agency.
Cheatle, who was picked by former first lady Jill Biden, has taken heat for a variety of security failures leading up to the chilling attempt on Trump’s life.
Multiple GOP-led probes into the assassination attempt cited sources who alleged Cheatle’s team had turned down Curran’s petitions for more security assets during the 2024 cycle.
Last month, on the first anniversary of the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) accused her of lying to Congress when she denied accusations she turned down requests for more resources for Trump’s security.
“Any assertion or implication that I provided misleading testimony is patently false and does a disservice to those men and women on the front lines who have been unfairly disciplined for a team, rather than individual, failure,” she fired back in a statement provided by her attorney.
During his second term, Trump has repeatedly moved to ax security clearances for former officials in key posts. In most cases, he’s gone further than Curran and outright revoked access.
This includes his January executive order to revoke clearances for the infamous “spies who lied” — the 51 intelligence officials who signed onto a letter claiming The Post’s bombshell story on Hunter Biden’s laptop had the “classic earmarks of Russian disinformation.”
Despite his terrifying brush with death, Trump has taken a charitable approach to the Secret Service.
“They should have had communications with the local police, they weren’t tied in, and they should have been tied in. So there were mistakes made,” Trump told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump on Fox News’ “My View” last month.
“But I was satisfied in terms of the bigger plot, the larger plot, I was satisfied,” he added. “And I have great confidence in these people. I know the people. And they’re very talented, very capable.”
“But they had a bad day. And I think they’ll admit that. They had a rough day.”
Last month, the Secret Service faced another security snafu when an agent attempted to sneak his wife onto an Air Force One jet during Trump’s trip to Scotland.
