President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he has appointed Kimberly Cheatle to be the next director of the United States Secret Service.
ALERT: China’s Navy is growing toward high seas supremacy while US Navy is shrinking its fleet
In a statement, Biden praised Cheatle, saying she “has had a long and distinguished career” during which she has “risen through the ranks” at the agency.
“Jill and I know firsthand Kim’s commitment to her job and to the Secret Service’s people and mission. When Kim served on my security detail when I was Vice President, we came to trust her judgement and counsel,” the statement read. “She is a distinguished law enforcement professional with exceptional leadership skills, and was easily 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.”
According to the White House, Cheatle has worked for the U.S. Secret Service for over 25 years in a variety of roles, including the Vice Presidential Protective Division, the Resident Agent in Charge, Grand Rapids, MI resident office, Assistant Inspector, Office of Inspection, Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge, Vice Presidential Protective Division, and Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge, RTC.
Last year, Biden awarded Cheatle with a Presidential Rank Award in order to recognize her for “exceptional performance over an extended period of time.”
Currently, Cheatle is a senior director at PepsiCo North America “overseeing facilities, personnel and business continuity.” She also previously worked as Assistant Director, Office of Protective Operations.
“In this position, Cheatle managed the execution of the Office of Protective Operation’s $133.5M budget and collaborated with ten operational divisions and the Technical Security Division to research, develop, and deploy technologies that reduce risks to protectees, protected facilities, and protected events,” the White House statement explained.
“She also developed and updated operational policies; oversaw a special projects team that responds to operational, technical and administrative issues at all levels of the organization; and directed staffing and logistical operations for the directorate and ten operational divisions to ensure divisions and events are properly resourced,” it added.
Last month, the U.S. Secret Service revealed that an agent was allegedly involved in a “physical encounter” in Jerusalem that led to him being detained by Israeli police and later returned to the U.S.
Three sources said the off-duty Secret Service agent was at a bar with other agents in Jerusalem on Monday night. The agent and a woman at the bar got into an argument, during which the agent shoved the woman.
