Off The Record

Dan Bongino: Trump Considers A Right-Wing Individual Among The Present And Previous Agents For The Director Of The US Secret Service

Published on January 2, 2025

According to sources familiar with the president-elect’s thinking, Donald Trump is considering hiring a right-wing media personality, former members of his US Secret Service detail, and others to lead the agency, which has been beset by its inability to stop two alleged assassination attempts on him this summer, CNN reports.

Those being considered for the position include Sean Curran, the head of Trump’s current detail, and podcaster Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who was very critical of the agency’s leadership as security lapses surrounding the claimed attempts on Trump’s life became apparent.

Meanwhile, Ronald Rowe, the acting director of the Secret Service, failed to arrange a meeting with Trump this week.

Robert Engel, the former chief of Trump’s detail who accompanied him on January 6, 2021, and who testified before the House select committee regarding the former president’s speech at the Ellipse prior to the US Capitol attack, is another person on the list of possible selections.

Trump’s selection for the director of the Secret Service will be crucial to the agency’s future and a very personal one for the president-elect, as he continues to announce names for key roles in the upcoming administration.

Rowe has been in charge of the agency for the past few months after Director Kimberly Cheatle abruptly left in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July, leaving it with low morale and a fatigued crew after the busy 2024 campaign season.

During the last months of the campaign, Rowe oversaw the former president’s increased security and made some structural adjustments to the agency.

An independent assessment team established by the Department of Homeland Security and members of Congress have stated that the Secret Service needs a comprehensive overhaul and would benefit from an outsider taking over and refocusing the organization on its primary goal of protection.

An enthusiastic Trump supporter, Bongino, was quite critical of Cheatle, calling her “completely unqualified” and accusing her of “putting politics ahead of presidential protection.”

Bongino stated in a podcast last week that he had not had any official discussions regarding the role.

Those who worked with Bongino during his more than ten years in the Secret Service hailed him as an exceptional agent.

However, several agency officials have pointed out that Bongino and the other candidates are inexperienced in administration; however, this hasn’t stopped Trump from appointing other unconventional candidates, including former Representative Matt Gaetz to head the Justice Department.

According to a source familiar with Trump’s thinking, Curran may also have challenges because of his tight and trusted relationship with Trump, who may want him to continue serving as his protection chief for the first several years of his presidency.

After former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified that Ornato told her that Trump had lunged at Engel after being told he could not go to the Capitol after his Ellipse speech, Engel and former Secret Service Assistant Director Tony Ornato emerged as pivotal figures in the House January 6 committee’s investigation.

Engel informed the committee that he did not remember the exchange Hutchinson had recounted, nor did he remember Trump making any gestures in his direction. Additionally, Ornato informed the committee that he had no memory of the incident or of telling Hutchinson the story.

According to a source familiar with the conversations, Ornato informed Trump’s transition team that he had no interest in becoming the director of the Secret Service.

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