U.S. Secret Service Director James Murray will retire later this month from the agency he has led since May 2019, the White House and the Service announced Thursday.
Mr. Murray was a 27-year veteran of the Secret Service, first joining as a special agent in the New York field office, where he investigated cyber-related financial crimes.
His last day will be July 30. Mr. Murray will depart the Secret Service for a position as a top security official at Snapchat.
President Biden said Mr. Murray has had “a long and distinguished career in federal and military service.”
“Jim embodies the meaning of service over self and protected the families of U.S. Presidents like they were part of his own. We are incredibly grateful for his service to our country and our family,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.
The Secret Service and its agents have become key players in the House probe into the events surrounding the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S Capitol.
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified last month that former President Trump lashed out at his protective security detail, demanding they let him join the mob marching towards the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. At one point, Mr. Trump lunged for the steering wheel of the presidential vehicle, Ms. Hutchinson said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted Mr. Murray’s departure wasn’t connected to the revelations in Ms. Hutchinson’s testimony.
From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Murray served as deputy assistant director of the Service’s Office of Protective Operations, where he coordinated its efforts for the 2016 presidential election and subsequent transition.
In April 2018, he became the Office’s assistant director, a position he held until former President Trump named him the agency’s 26th director three years ago.
As head of the Secret Service, Mr. Murray guided the agency through eight National Special Security Events and nearly 20,000 international and domestic protective operations, the Secret Service said.
During Mr. Murray’s tenure, the agency also recovered roughly $4.2 billion in fraud loss and prevented an estimated $8.1 billion in additional losses at the hands of criminals.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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