Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has appointed Ronald Rowe Jr. as acting director of the Secret Service, replacing Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned Tuesday.
In a statement, Mayorkas, a former Wash100 Award winner, praised Rowe for accepting the challenge of leading the agency, noting that the new appointee enjoys his “utmost confidence.”
Rowe assumed the role on Tuesday and will be responsible for executing the Secret Service’s mission of protecting national leaders and visiting dignitaries and securing important national events.
Before his appointment to the post, Rowe served as deputy director in April 2023 and headed the agency’s daily investigative and protective operations.
The 24-year Secret Service veteran most recently served as assistant director of the Office of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs and was deputy assistant director of the Office of Protective Operations at the agency.
In 2021, he was also assigned as the chief of staff to then-Secret Service Director James Murray, who retired in 2022.
Rowe will ascend to the top post in the immediate aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, an incident that led to Cheatle’s resignation.
