What to know about new Secret Service director after second Trump assassination attempt

The Secret Service is again under a microscope following what law enforcement officials say was an apparent second attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump on Sunday, thrusting the embattled agency into new debates and investigations as it reels from a deadly July shooting.

Though it's been just two months since Trump was targeted by a gunman at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, where one bystander was killed, the Secret Service has already experienced several upheavals, from on-the-ground operations to senior leadership.

Ronald Rowe Jr., the Secret Service deputy director, was tapped as the acting director of the embattled agency in late July after the former director resigned following blistering criticism from bipartisan lawmakers investigating the shooting.

Live Updates: Suspect in Trump assassination attempt charged, didn't fire any shots

While the Biden administration searches for a new, permanent leader, Rowe will likely step into the very same hot seat that ultimately led to his predecessor's abrupt exit. Though the former director, Kimberly Cheatle, served in the position for two years — compared to Rowe's less than two months in the role — leadership will no doubt be subject to more tough questions as details of Sunday's attempt continue to emerge.

Who is acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe?

Rowe has been with the agency for 25 years, starting in 1999 after serving as a police officer in West Palm Beach, Florida, coincidentally the same city where the second alleged assassination attempt took place Sunday at the Trump International Golf Club.

Before assuming leadership roles, Rowe was on former President George W. Bush's presidential protective detail from 2004 to 2008, served as staff of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary from 2008 to 2011, and worked on projects related to state-sponsored economic espionage and cybersecurity. According to his Secret Service bio, Rowe was also selected for a joint duty assignment to the National Intelligence Council in 2013, and he worked on the White House National Security Council as a National Security and Law Enforcement Policy Advisor in 2011.

Cheatle appointed Rowe as her top deputy in April 2023. In that role, he was responsible for direct oversight of the agency’s daily investigative and protective operations. He also guided the agency’s policies "and was responsible for introducing state-of-the-art technologies to enhance the agency’s protective countermeasures," according to his official bio.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appointed Rowe to serve as the acting director of the agency in July, a few days after Cheatle was grilled by members of the House Oversight Committee for the agency's failures in nearly allowing a 20-year-old sniper to kill Trump during a Pennsylvania campaign rally on July 13.

"I have the utmost confidence in Deputy Director Rowe and the men and women of the Secret Service, who put their lives on the line every day and deserve our full support," Mayorkas said in a statement during the July 23 appointment.

Rowe is on location in West Palm Beach to walk through the site of the attempted second assassination and meet with law enforcement partners on Monday, according to reporting by CNN.

In a July 30 testimony before the Senate Judiciary and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees, Rowe called the Pennsylvania shooting "a failure on multiple levels" and recounted what he saw at the site after an in-person visit.

"What I saw made me ashamed. As a career law enforcement officer, and a twenty-five-year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured," Rowe said. "To prevent similar lapses from occurring in the future, I directed our personnel to ensure every event site security plan is thoroughly vetted by multiple experienced supervisors before it is implemented."

The acting director has not yet made a statement on Sunday's apparent assassination attempt.

Suspect Ryan Routh, who appeared in federal court Monday, is being held on charges of possession of a firearm while a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Authorities say he never fired a shot.

USA TODAY's Josh Meyer contributed to this report.

Kathryn Palmer is an elections fellow for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @KathrynPlmr.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Who is head of Secret Service? Key info after shots fired at Trump