US Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned this morning.
Cheatle, who was appointed as the 27th Director at the behest of Jill Biden in 2022, was previously the head of global security for PepsiCo.
Her push for DEI goals had caused consternation among the rank and file agents. In April 2024, after a female agent on Vice President Kamala Harris’s detail attacked her superior officer and other agents, U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer requested a briefing with Cheatle to address issues regarding hiring, training and disciplinary processes. The Secret Service downplayed reports of a petition circulating within the agency alleging security vulnerabilities arising from these processes.
Cheatle’s previous statements regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion became a frequent target for criticism by bipartisan commentators. The Secret Service called criticism of female agents “misogynistic” and reaffirmed its belief where diversity in recruiting was “helping, not hurting, the effectiveness of its protective teams.”
Let’s be honest. She should have been gone the day after the attempt. The reason she stuck around was POTATUS’ (or those around him, let’s be honest he doesn’t know what day it is) obsession with historic firsts. And Cheatle was the first woman director of the USSS.
This makes Cheatle the first major political appointee in the Biden administration to be forced out for performance – or lack thereof – reasons.