President-elect Donald Trump is only days away from a historic second presidential inauguration, but before he takes office, he is expected to make a significant change in the U.S. Secret Service.
Multiple reports suggest that the president-elect is expected to replace leadership in the Secret Service. Ronald Rowe is the acting director of the government agency. Rowe took over for Kimberly Cheadle, the former head of the Secret Service, who resigned after the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Rowe has been leading the agency since July 2024.
The Secret Service agency was scrutinized due to the many failures and security breaches during the Butler incident. Rowe testified before a bipartisan House task force that investigated the assassination attempt. It was a contentious exchange between Rowe and several members of Congress. Rowe labeled the events of July 13 as a failure of the Secret Service during his testimony.
“July 13 was a failure of the Secret Service to adequately secure the Butler Farm Show site and protect President-elect Trump,” Rowe said to the task force. “That abject failure underscored critical gaps in Secret Service operations, and I recognize that we did not meet the expectations of the American public, Congress, and our protectees, and they rightly have that idea based on how we performed.”
The president-elect is reportedly expected to name Sean Curran, a close acquaintance of Trump and the person currently responsible for his security detail, to replace Rowe. Curran manages a team of 85 people in his current capacity working for the president-elect, according to multiple sources. Critics of Curran’s appointment expressed concern that he has no experience in the agency and might struggle to run a department as large as U.S. Secret Service, given that he manages a team of only 85, according to multiple reports.
However, the fact that Curran is an outsider could be precisely what the agency needs – according to the Independent Review Panel tasked with investigating the attempted assassination. The panel found multiple deficiencies, including accountability, a lack of critical thinking, and numerous communication issues, among many others. One of the panel’s recommendations was new leadership for the agency, specifically suggesting hiring someone outside the Secret Service.
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“Moreover, the Panel strongly believes it is important that: (a) the new leadership of the Service come from outside the Service rather than internal promotion, and (b) the newly selected Director be allowed to bring in the leadership team he or she thinks most fit,” read the report. “The events of Butler suggest that there is an urgent need for fresh thinking informed by external experience and perspective; the new, external leadership will still undoubtedly draw on subordinates with deep experience within the Service to aid them in their acclimation, but ultimately, the non-Service perspective will benefit the protective mission during this critical juncture.”
Trump has not officially nominated Curran, or anyone, for the position yet.
