Kimberly Cheatle stepped down from her role as director of the US Secret Service this morning, following criticism over how she dealt with an attempted assassination of ex-President Donald Trump.

During testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Tuesday, Cheatle promised to respond but insisted no malfeasance occurred. Cheatle repeatedly invoked an FBI investigation into the Trump assassination attempt as a reason not to answer questions during several hours of testimony.

Cheatle told Congresswoman Lisa McClain of Michigan she had talked to the FBI – which tends not to confirm or deny investigations regardless, but did not disclose how many shell casings were found. She said she knew the answer but would not provide it to the committee. 

Cheatle deferred to the FBI when asked by Congressman Andy Biggs if she could confirm that there was only one shooter.

Cheatle was also asked about the Secret Services hiring practices and said, “Everyone who moves through the application process has to meet the same standards to become a special agent.”

Cheatle also admitted to not having gone to the Butler shooting location and so could not give a fixed event timeline from that day. She later declined to identify who authorized the Butler rally security plan and did not answer why past Trump campaign requests for more protection were denied.

However, these responses did not stop some Democrats like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from questioning Cheatle. Critics fear Cheatle’s resignation will be used as a means of taking the heat off — and not pursuing any deeper examination into what happened, or what was going on at the Commission.

The resignation leaves the Secret Service with no director as officials investigate both the attempted assassination and more widespread questions of how and whether the agency doing its rightful duty.