Director of the US Secret Service, Kimberly Chittle, admitted on Monday that the agency failed in its mission to prevent an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
"We failed," said Chettle, who faces calls to resign.
This came while she was testifying before the Accounting and Oversight Committee of the US House of Representatives.
The senior official considered that the attempt to assassinate Trump was the agency's "most prominent operational failure in decades."
Chittle stated that the former president's security had been increased prior to the shooting, in the face of allegations from members of the Republican Party that the Secret Service had refused to provide resources to protect Trump.
She continued: "The level of insurance provided to the former president increased well before the campaign and continues to increase steadily in light of the development of threats. Our mission is not political. It is literally a matter of life and death."
Monday's session represents the first round of oversight in Congress regarding the circumstances of the assassination attempt, and FBI Director Christopher Wray will appear on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee.
Chittle is resisting calls for her resignation from prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Republican James Comer of the House Oversight Committee also repeated those calls during the hearing.
“It is my firm belief, Director Chittle, that you should resign,” said Comer, the Republican representative from Kentucky. “The Secret Service has thousands of employees and a huge budget, but it has now become a symbol of incompetence.”
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