Washington   -   US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle acknowledged on Monday that the agency “failed” in its mission to prevent the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump.

“The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders,” Cheatle said during testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. “On July 13, we failed,” she said. “As director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse.”

Cheatle, who is facing bipartisan calls to resign, said the assassination attempt on Trump, who was slightly wounded in the ear while speaking at a campaign rally, was “the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades.” The 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire on Trump with an AR-style rifle just minutes after the former Republican president and current White House candidate began speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania.