Kimberly Cheatle, Director of the United States Secret Service

Kimberly Cheatle

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Kim Cheatle

Director of the United States Secret Service

Incumbent
Assumed office
September 17, 2022
President Joe Biden
Preceded by James M. Murray
Personal details
Education Eastern Illinois University (BA)
Awards Presidential Rank Award (2021)


Kimberly A. Cheatle is an American law enforcement officer who has served as the 27th director of the United States Secret Service since September 2022.[1] She previously held multiple roles in the United States Secret Service for over 25 years.
Career

Cheatle joined the United States Secret Service in 1995.[2] She was involved in the evacuation of Vice President Dick Cheney on the September 11 attacks, and served on Joe Biden's protective detail during the Obama administration, when she was assigned to the Vice Presidential Protective Division.[3] In 2017 and 2018, she served as deputy assistant director. She also served as special-agent-in-charge in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, office. She became the first woman to serve as assistant director of Protective Operations, a department tasked with protection of the president and dignitaries, and managed a budget of over $133.5 million.[4]

From 2019 to 2022, Cheatle served as senior director of global security at PepsiCo, where she was responsible for directing and implementing security protocols for the company's facilities in North America. Her role involves developing risk management assessment and risk mitigation.[5][6][7]

In 2021, U.S. president Joe Biden awarded Cheatle a Presidential Rank Award for exceptional performance.[8] In August 2022, Biden announced the appointment of Cheatle to be director of the United States Secret Service,[9] and she assumed office on September 17, 2022.[10] Cheatle took over the Secret Service following "a turbulent couple months in which the agency best known for protecting presidents has faced controversies related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol."[11] During a CBS News interview in May 2023, Cheatle stated the Secret Service, which had a 48% departure rate, needed to "attract diverse candidates and give opportunities to everybody in the workforce, particularly women." She said she aims to have 30% women in the agency by 2030.[12]

On July 13, 2024, during the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Cheatle was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where the 2024 Republican National Convention was to be held. In the wake of the shooting, Cheatle and the Secret Service were widely criticized for the perceived security failure.[13]

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