Biden names new Secret Service director amid Jan. 6 scrutiny

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has named Kim Cheatle, a veteran Secret Service official, as the agency’s next director. Her appointment comes as the agency faces controversy over missing text messages around the time thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol. Cheatle left the Secret Service in 2021 for a job as a security executive at PepsiCo. She takes over as congressional committees and the Homeland Security’s internal watchdog are investigating the missing messages, which the Secret Service has said were purged during a technology transition. Cheatle worked at the Secret Service for 27 years and was the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations. That division provides protection to the president and other dignitaries.