Sean Curran faces a tough task as the new director of the Secret Service: reforming the troubled protective agency after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a campaign rally, its worst security debacle in decades. Members of Congress and outside experts want Curran to shake up the agency’s leadership, overhaul security planning at big events, and rethink the structure of the 8,000-person agency. Its problems include a chronically overworked staff and a multibillion-dollar budget officials say has not kept pace with rising threats against U.S. leaders, the Washington Post reports. Curran, the former head of Trump’s Secret Service detail, helped shield the candidate when a man fired at a fairground stage in Butler, Pa., last summer. While he was not blamed for the critical errors that day, Curran is charged with fixing them.
The directorship is new territory for Curran, 48, an agent for more than 20 years who had never held an executive role in government. Agents respect him for his rigor as a supervisor and penchant for tough assignments. He is untested when it comes to managing a full agency — let alone running the service during a period of historic scrutiny and pressure on his workforce. Officials “are rebuilding their plane in flight,” said Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), the ranking member of a House task force that investigated the Butler shooting.
“They’re being asked to do more than ever before,” Crow said. “They have to protect the top leadership of this country at the same time when there are massive challenges for morale, funding, training and coordination with other [law enforcement] agencies. I hope director Curran is up to the job.” Curran’s appointment runs contrary to repeated recommendations from experts to name an outsider who won’t be influenced by personal relationships and traditions at headquarters. The service’s 3,600 agents are spread thin while providing security for protectees.