Ms. Cheatle, who protected Mr. Biden as vice president, will be the second woman to lead the agency, which has recently weathered a series of scandals.
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Kim Cheatle served in the Secret Service for 27 years, according to a biography distributed by the White House.
WASHINGTON — President Biden on Wednesday named Kim Cheatle, who served on his Secret Service detail when he was vice president, to lead the agency charged with protecting the president and other top officials.
Ms. Cheatle will be only the second woman to lead the Secret Service in its 157-year history. She replaces James M. Murray, who announced his retirement after three years in the agency’s top job.
“When Kim served on my security detail when I was vice president, we came to trust her judgment and counsel,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “She is a distinguished law enforcement professional with exceptional leadership skills.”
The Secret Service has been rocked by a series of scandals, including missing text messages to and from agents around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and charges by Democrats that officials at the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency, have not been cooperative with the House panel investigating the attack.
In the last decade, there have also been incidents of drunken behavior and dealings with prostitutes by Secret Service agents during and in advance of presidential trips abroad; failures to secure the White House from fence jumpers; and a lapse that allowed a couple to crash a state dinner.
A series of former directors have promised to reform the agency, which investigates cybercrimes in addition to its protective duties. But embarrassing incidents continue to occur. In July, a Secret Service employee working in Israel before President Biden’s visit there was sent home after being arrested by the Israeli police in what the U.S. agency called “a physical encounter.”
In his statement, Mr. Biden expressed confidence that Ms. Cheatle was “the best choice to lead the agency at a critical moment for the Secret Service.”
“She has my complete trust, and I look forward to working with her,” the president added.
The director of the Secret Service is appointed by the president and does not require Senate confirmation.
Ms. Cheatle served in the Secret Service for 27 years, according to a biography distributed by the White House. During that time, she served as special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Atlanta office, and also rose to become the first woman to serve as assistant director of protective operations, overseeing a $133.5 million budget.
In 2021, Mr. Biden awarded Ms. Cheatle a Presidential Rank Award for exceptional performance. She recently left government service to become a senior director at Pepsi.
Source: nytimes.com
