President-elect Donald Trump is expected to announce before Monday's inauguration that he plans to replace Ronald Rowe, Secret Service acting director, according to reports Friday morning.
The Secret Service has not been officially notified of any changes, but it is operating under the assumption that Rowe's leadership at the agency will not be extended, reported ABC News, quoting sources from within the agency.
Sean Curran, the head of Trump's protective detail, is the leading candidate to replace Rowe, multiple sources said.
Rowe was appointed as the acting director of the agency after the resignation of former Director Kimberly Cheatle last July.
She stepped down when she came under scrutiny over the Secret Service's failure to prevent the assassination attempt against Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
In December, Rowe spoke at a final public meeting of a bipartisan House task force investigating the attempted assassination, as well as another attempt in Florida in September.
"July 13 was a failure of the Secret Service to adequately secure the Butler farm show site and protect President-elect Trump," he said at the hearing. "That abject failure underscored critical gaps within Secret Service operations, and I recognize that we did not meet the expectations of the American public, Congress, and our protectees."
Rowe said that the Secret Service has made several structural changes, after the assassination attempts. Further, he said that the use of drones and counter-drone technology was stepped up and Trump's protective detail was increased during the final months of his 2024 campaign.
He added that the Secret Service has been increasing its staffing.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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