Director of the United States Secret Service

Director of the
United States Secret Service
Director of the; United States Secret Service
	Seal of the Secret Service
	Flag of the Secret Service
	Incumbent; Kimberly Cheatle; since September 17, 2022
	United States Secret Service
Reports to	Secretary of Homeland Security
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Nominator	President of the United States
Appointer	President of the United States; Sole decision of the President
Term length	At the pleasure of the President
Formation	July 5, 1865
First holder	William P. Wood (as chief)
Deputy	Ronald L. Rowe Jr
Website	www.secretservice.gov

The director of the United States Secret Service is the head of the United States Secret Service, and is responsible for the day-to-day operations.

The Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security.^[1]^[2] The service is mandated by Congress to carry out a unique dual mission: safeguarding the financial and critical infrastructure of the United States, and protecting the nation's leaders.^[3]^[4]^[1]

The director is appointed by, and serves at the pleasure of the president of the United States, and is not subject to Senate confirmation.^[5] The director reports to the secretary of homeland security, and operates with the general directions thereof. Prior to March 1, 2003, the Secret Service was a part of the United States Department of the Treasury.^[2]^[6]

History

President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation creating the Secret Service on April 14, 1865, the day of his assassination.^[7] It was commissioned on July 5, 1865, in Washington, D.C., as the "Secret Service Division" of the Department of the Treasury.^[8] After being appointed by President Andrew Johnson, William P. Wood was sworn in as the first chief of the Secret Service on July 5, 1865, by Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch.^[9]

When the Secret Service was established, its head was called the chief of the Secret Service. In 1965, the title was changed to the director of the Secret Service, four years into the term of James Joseph Rowley (1961–1973).^[9] The longest serving head of the Secret Service was William H. Moran, who served under five presidents from 1917 to 1936.

On March 27, 2013, President Barack Obama appointed Julia Pierson to be the twenty-third director of the Secret Service.^[10] She became the first female director of the agency.^[11] On October 1, 2014, the Secret Service leadership changed to Director Joseph Clancy, a retired agent who formerly led the Presidential Protective Division. On March 4, 2017, Director Joseph Clancy retired, leaving the position vacant until a replacement was nominated by President Donald Trump.^[12] Meanwhile, William J. Callahan served as acting director of the United States Secret Service from March 4, 2017, to April 25, 2017. Randolph Alles, former acting deputy commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, was appointed director by Trump.^[13]

List of chiefs and directors

No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	President appointed by
1	Wood, WilliamWilliam P. Wood (1820–1903)	July 5, 1865	1869	3–4 years	Johnson, AndrewAndrew Johnson
2	Whitley, HiramHiram C. Whitley (1834–1919)	1869	1874	4–5 years	Grant, UlyssesUlysses S. Grant
3	Washburn, ElmerElmer Washburn (1839–1897)	1874	1876	1–2 years	Grant, UlyssesUlysses S. Grant
4	Brooks, JamesJames Brooks (1824–1895)	1876	1888	11–12 years	Hayes, RutherfordRutherford B. Hayes
5	Bell, JohnJohn S. Bell (1844–1917)	1888	1890	1–2 years	Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland
6	Drummond, AndrewAndrew L. Drummond (1845–1921)	1891	1894	2–3 years	Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison
7	Hazen, WilliamWilliam P. Hazen (1840–1923)	1894	1898	3–4 years	Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland
8	Wilkie, JohnJohn Wilkie (1860–1934)	1898	1911	12–13 years	McKinley, WilliamWilliam McKinley
9	Flynn, WilliamWilliam J. Flynn (1867–1928)	1912	1917	4–5 years	Taft, WilliamWilliam Howard Taft
10	Moran, WilliamWilliam H. Moran (1862–1946)	1917	1936	18–19 years	Wilson, WoodrowWoodrow Wilson
11	Wilson, FrankFrank J. Wilson (1887–1970)	1937	1946	8–9 years	Roosevelt, FranklinFranklin D. Roosevelt
12	Maloney, JamesJames J. Maloney (1896–1959)	1946	1948	1–2 years	Truman, HarryHarry Truman
13	Baughman, UrbanusU. E. Baughman (1905–1978)	November 29, 1948	August 31, 1961	12 years	Truman, HarryHarry Truman
14	Rowley, JamesJames Joseph Rowley (1908–1992)	September 1, 1961	October 1973	12 years	Kennedy, JohnJohn F. Kennedy
15	Knight, H.H. Stuart Knight (1921–2009)	1973	11 May 1981	7–8 years	Nixon, RichardRichard Nixon
16	Simpson, JohnJohn R. Simpson (1932–2017)	1981	1992	10–11 years	Reagan, RonaldRonald Reagan
17	Magaw, JohnJohn Magaw (born 1935)	1992	1993	0–1 year(s)	Bush, GeorgeGeorge H. W. Bush
18	Bowron, EljayEljay B. Bowron (born c. 1951)	1993	1997	3–4 years	Clinton, BillBill Clinton
19	Merletti, LewisLewis C. Merletti (born c. 1948)	June 6, 1997	March 3, 1999	2 years	Clinton, BillBill Clinton
20	Stafford, BrianBrian L. Stafford (born c. 1959)	March 4, 1999	January 24, 2003	3 years	Clinton, BillBill Clinton
21	Basham, W.W. Ralph Basham (born 1943)	January 27, 2003	May 30, 2006	3 years	Bush, GeorgeGeorge W. Bush
22	Sullivan, MarkMark J. Sullivan (born c.1955)	May 31, 2006	March 27, 2013	6 years	Bush, GeorgeGeorge W. Bush
23	Pierson, JuliaJulia Pierson (born 1959)	March 27, 2013	October 1, 2014	1 year	Obama, BarackBarack Obama
24	Clancy, JosephJoseph Clancy (born 1955)	October 1, 2014	March 4, 2017	2 years	Obama, BarackBarack Obama
–	Callahan, WilliamWilliam J. Callahan Acting	March 4, 2017	April 25, 2017	52 days	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump
25	Alles, RandolphRandolph Alles (born 1954)	April 25, 2017	May 1, 2019	2 years	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump
26	Murray, JamesJames M. Murray (born c. 1968)	May 1, 2019	September 17, 2022	5 years	Trump, DonaldDonald Trump
27	Cheatle, KimberlyKimberly Cheatle	September 17, 2022	Incumbent	1 years	Biden, JoeJoe Biden