Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle bowed to intense pressure to resign on Tuesday after many members of Congress complained about her lack of transparency to explain what contributed to the shooting of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.

Cheatle was not forthcoming in her Monday appearance before Congress, and she tried in press interviews to explain away the failure by saying her personnel were not on the roof where the shooter set up because it was sloped.

She also tried to blame local police for the shooting by saying the shooter's position was outside the rally perimeter and was their responsibility.

She spent nine days after the shooting refusing calls to resign, but finally gave in.

The letter

Cheatle said in a resignation letter, "The Secret Service's solemn mission is to protect our nation's leaders and financial infrastructure. On July 13th, we fell short on that mission."

"The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases. As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse," she added.

"However, this incident does not define us," she went on. "We remain an organization based on integrity and staffed by individuals of exceptional dedication and talent. As I've stated, the Secret Service will move forward with our investigatory and protective mission in a steadfast manner."

"We do not retreat from challenge. However, I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each and every one of you do towards our vital mission," she concluded.

Biden's response

President Joe Biden responded to Cheatle's resignation by thanking her for her service, with barely a mention of the reason for her departure.

"She has selflessly dedicated and risked her life to protect our nation throughout her career in the United States Secret Service," the President wrote.

He continued: "As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service."

"The independent review to get to the bottom of what happened on July 13 continues, and I look forward to assessing its conclusions. We all know what happened that day can never happen again. As we move forward, I wish Kim all the best, and I will plan to appoint a new Director soon," he added.

Johnson's response

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) reacted to the resignation by saying, "Look, the immediate reaction to her resignation, is that it is overdue. She should have done this at least a week ago. I'm happy to see that she has heeded the call of both Republicans and Democrats."

''Now, we have to pick up the pieces," he added. "We have to rebuild the American people's faith and trust in the Secret Service as an agency. It has an incredibly important responsibility in protecting presidents, former presidents and other officials in the executive branch and we've got a lot of work to do."