Donald Trump is considering a right-wing media personality, people who have served on his US Secret Service detail, as well as others to run the agency that has been plagued by its failure to preempt two alleged assassination attempts on Trump this summer, sources familiar with the president-elect’s thinking tell CNN.
Podcaster Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who was highly critical of the agency’s leadership as security failures around the alleged attempts on Trump’s life became clear, as well as Sean Curran, the head of Trump’s current detail, are among those being considered for the job.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, meanwhile, was unsuccessful in trying to set up a meeting with Trump this week.
Others on the list of potential picks include Robert Engel, the former head of Trump’s detail who was with him on January 6, 2021, and testified to the House select committee about the former president’s speech at the Ellipse that preceded the US Capitol attack.
As Trump continues to roll out names for top positions in the incoming administration, his choice for director of the Secret Service will be pivotal to the agency’s future – and a particularly personal one for the president-elect.
The agency, with low morale and an exhausted workforce following the intense 2024 campaign season, has been led for the last few months by Rowe, who took over following Director Kimberly Cheatle’s abrupt exit in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July.
Rowe has implemented some structural changes in the agency and oversaw the ramp-up in security for the former president during the last few months of the campaign.
Members of Congress as well as an independent review panel set up under the Department of Homeland Security have said the Secret Service needs a complete revamp and would benefit from an outsider coming in and refocusing the agency to its core mission of protection.
Bongino, an ardent Trump supporter, was highly critical of Cheatle, accusing her of making “putting politics ahead of presidential protection” and saying she was “utterly unqualified.”
In a podcast last week, Bongino said he hadn’t had any formal conversations about the position.
Bongino spent more than a decade in the Secret Service and individuals who worked with him praised him as a stellar agent.
Some in the agency, however, have noted that Bongino and the other names being floated lack administrative experience, though that has not deterred Trump from making other unorthodox picks, such as former Rep. Matt Gaetz to lead the Justice Department.
Another issue for Curran could be the close, trusted relationship he has built with Trump, who may want him to stay on as head of his protection for the first few years of his administration, one source familiar with Trump’s thinking told CNN.
Engel and former Secret Service Assistant Director Tony Ornato became key figures in the House January 6 committee’s investigation after former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified that Ornato told her Trump had lunged at Engel after being told he could not go to the Capitol following his Ellipse speech.
Engel told the committee he did not recall the conversation described by Hutchinson and said he didn’t recall Trump gesturing toward him. Ornato also told the committee he didn’t recall the story happening or telling it to Hutchinson.
Ornato told Trump’s transition team he was not interested in the role of Secret Service director, a source familiar with the discussions told CNN.