Sean Curran was sworn in Monday as the new director of the Secret Service, ushering in a new direction for the beleaguered agency.
Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem swore him in, according to a photo posted on X by special assistant to the president and communications adviser Margo Martin.
Mr. Curran was the agent who sprung into action last year to protect Mr. Trump from a would-be assassin at his campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
When announcing his selection of Mr. Curran to lead the agency, the president wrote in an X post that he is “a brilliant leader who is capable of directing and leading operational security plans for some of the most complex special security events.”
“He proved his fearless courage when he risked his own life to help save mine from an assassin’s bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania. I have complete and total confidence in Sean to make the United States Secret Service stronger than ever before,” Mr. Trump wrote.
He previously served as the head of Mr. Trump’s personal security detail for four years, leaping to cover the then-candidate at his July rally.
“He has always shown respect to not only me, but the division that protected him,” Mr. Curran told CBS News last month. “We have a bond, probably for life.”
Mr. Curran also made headlines last week by honoring 13-year-old brain cancer survivor D.J. Daniel as an honorary Secret Service member at the president’s address to Congress last week.
He first joined the Secret Service in 2001. From 2008 to 2013, he was assigned to the Presidential Protective Division where he protected former President Barack Obama and his family. From 2014 to 2016, he served as the assistant to the special agent in charge of the Dignitary Protective Division.
He was promoted in 2018 to assistant special agent in charge of the Presidential Protective Division. He was again promoted to deputy special agent in charge of the Presidential Protective detail late last year.
Director of the Secret Service is not a role that needs confirmation from the Senate, unlike other Cabinet positions and FBI director.
Mr. Trump had promised swift change at the agency after two assassination attempts raised questions about the agency’s competency.
Mr. Curran is replacing Ron Rowe, who served as acting director after director Kimberly Cheatle was pressured to step down in July over the handling of the assassination attempt that came within an inch of killing Mr. Trump, killed a local firefighter and wounded two other rallygoers.
The Secret Service faced a lot of criticism after the shooting, during which it killed the gunman, after Congress heavily questioned how it could’ve taken place. Ms. Cheatle resigned less than two weeks afterward, saying she takes “full responsibility for the security lapse.”
“In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director,” Ms. Cheatle said in the email.
A second assassination attempt against Mr. Trump in September raised even more questions about how attackers seemed to be slipping through the cracks of Mr. Trump’s security. The gunman was apprehended at Mr. Trump’s Florida golf course before he could open fire.
A report done by the service on the July assassination attempt on Mr. Trump revealed that “multiple operational and communications gaps preceded” the attempt.
“This included a deficiency of established command and control, lapses in communication, and a lack of diligence by agency personnel,” the report said.
Mr. Curran told CBS that his goal as head of the agency “is to put the right people on the field and get the best qualified applicants for this job, no matter what the position is and no matter what they look like.”
