Who will be the new director of the Secret Service amid the scandal over deleted messages
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President Biden nominated Kim Cheatle because she has a long and distinguished 27-year career with the Secret Service, as well as having the experience and leadership to lead the agency.
The Secret Service has recently come under scrutiny after it was reported deleting text messages in the days surrounding the January 6 insurrection. President Joe Biden made some changes and nominated Kim Cheatle as the new director of the US Secret Service.
Through a statement, the White House informed regarding the president's decision to appoint the new director, who he highlighted has had a long career within the Secret Service and the Biden family has a relationship with her.
“Kim has had a long and distinguished career in the Secret Service, having risen through the ranks during her 27 years with the agency, becoming the first woman to serve as deputy director of protective operations,” Biden said in a statement.
NEW: @POTUS announces his pick to head the @SecretService, former assistant director of protective operations Kim Cheatle pic.twitter.com/X1qd7z6Bsg
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) August 24, 2022
The Biden family noted that they have a close relationship with Cheatlem who served in the security detail when Vice President Joe Biden revealed that his family "came to trust his judgment and advice."
“She is a distinguished law enforcement professional with exceptional leadership skills and was easily the best choice to lead the agency at a critical time for the Secret Service. She has my complete trust and I look forward to working with her.”
Kim Cheatle has held leadership roles across the country for the agency and has the experience of investigating and protecting, among other skills that will allow the Secret Service to build a strong foundation.
“She has a deep knowledge and understanding of the Agency's missions to investigate and protect. I am confident that her skill set, combined with her fresh perspective, will ensure that the Secret Service builds on a strong foundation to grow and evolve into an even more effective agency.” Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said.
At the beginning of July, James Murray, who was director of the Secret Service, announced that he was leaving his position at the end of the month because he had accepted a position to work at the Snapchat social network company. The White House press director specified that Murray's departure was already scheduled before the controversy of the messages.
James Murray was in the US Secret Service for 27 years, three of them as director since he was appointed in May 2019 by then-President Donald Trump.
In recent weeks the agency has been embroiled in a controversy related to text messages that were deleted after the DHS inspector general searched for them, this in relation to the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6.
A letter sent by the inspector general to the heads of the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees said the messages were removed “as part of a device replacement program” despite the inspector general requesting the texts..
Last July, the Secret Service concluded that the messages requested by the House of Representatives commission investigating the events are impossible to recover.