Former President Trump praises Secret Service in RNC speech amid calls for director to resign

Former US President Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Thursday, July 18, 2024. The RNC chairman warned against complacency when his party concludes its official nominating jamboree this week with polls predicting ex-President Donald Trump prevailing over President Joe Biden in the November election. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Former President Trump praised Secret Service agents who protected him during Saturday's assassination attempt in his highly anticipated RNC speech Thursday night, amid growing calls for Secet Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign over what lawmakers call severe security failures that led to the attempted assassination of Trump over the weekend.

"Bullets were continuing to fly, as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage, and they really did they rushed," Trump said Thursday night. "It was great people at great risk, I will tell you, and pounced on top of me so that I would be protected."

The furious criticism of the agency comes as Republicans and some Democrats are demanding answers from the Secret Service over the circumstances surrounding the attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The shooter has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, and the FBI is investigating his specific motive.

Cheatle has agreed to comply with a subpoena from House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer. She has called the shooting "unacceptable" and "something that shouldn’t happen again."

"The buck stops with me," she told ABC News. "I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary."She has also faced criticism for comments she made talking about a "sloped roof" that caused a safety issue.