Kimberly Cheatle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kim Cheatle
Official portrait, 2018
27th Director of the United States Secret Service
In office September 17, 2022 – July 23, 2024
President	Joe Biden
Deputy	Ronald L. Rowe Jr.
Preceded by	James M. Murray
Succeeded by	Sean M. Curran
Personal details
Born	1970/1971 (age 54–55) Hinsdale, Illinois, U.S.
Education	Eastern Illinois University (BA)
Awards	Presidential Rank Award (2021)

Kimberly A. Cheatle (born 1970/1971) is an American former law enforcement officer. She served as the 27th director of the United States Secret Service. This important role lasted from 2022 until 2024.

Before becoming director, she worked for the Secret Service from 1995 to 2019. After that, she was a senior director of global security at PepsiCo from 2019 to 2022. President Joe Biden chose her to lead the Secret Service. She started her job on September 17, 2022. She was only the second woman to hold this high position.

After an event involving Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, the Secret Service faced a lot of criticism. People questioned their security measures. On July 22, Kim Cheatle spoke to a special committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Many people asked her to resign. She resigned the next day, on July 23, 2024.

About Kim Cheatle

Early Life and School

Kim Cheatle was born in Hinsdale, Illinois. She grew up in a town called Danville, Illinois. For her college studies, she went to Eastern Illinois University. She studied sociology, which is about how people live in groups. She also focused on criminal justice, which is about laws and the justice system.

Her Career in Security

Kim Cheatle joined the United States Secret Service in 1995. The Secret Service is a special agency. It protects the President, Vice President, and their families. It also investigates financial crimes.

She helped evacuate Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney during the September 11 attacks. Later, she was part of Joe Biden's security team. This was when he was Vice President during the Obama administration. She worked in the Vice Presidential Protective Division.

In 2017 and 2018, she became a deputy assistant director. She also served as a special agent in charge in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She made history by becoming the first woman to lead Protective Operations. This unit is in charge of protecting the President of the United States and other important people.

From 2019 to 2022, Kim Cheatle worked at PepsiCo. She was the senior director of global security there. This job involved keeping the company safe around the world.

In 2021, President Joe Biden gave her a special award. It was called the Presidential Rank Award. This award is for excellent performance by government leaders.

Leading the Secret Service

In August 2022, President Biden announced that Kim Cheatle would be the new director. She officially started on September 17, 2022. She was the second woman ever to hold this important job. She took over the Secret Service after a difficult time for the agency.

In 2023, Kim Cheatle shared her goals for the Secret Service. She told CBS News that she wanted to hire more diverse people. She especially wanted to give more opportunities to women. Her goal was for 30 percent of new recruits to be female by 2030.

In April 2024, there were some concerns about the Secret Service. A female agent on Vice President Kamala Harris's team had an incident with her boss. Because of this, a committee chairman asked to meet with Kim Cheatle. They wanted to discuss hiring, training, and rules. The Secret Service said that reports of problems were not true.

After an event involving Donald Trump in July 2024, some people criticized Kim Cheatle's focus on diversity. They said it might affect security. However, the Secret Service's chief of communication said that diversity was helping, not hurting, their teams.

Event Involving Donald Trump

On July 13, 2024, an event involving Donald Trump happened in Butler, Pennsylvania. Kim Cheatle was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the time. She was there because of a big political meeting happening soon.

After the event, many people criticized the Secret Service's security. Kim Cheatle said that the failure was "unacceptable." She also told ABC News that she would not resign. She explained that local police were responsible for securing the building where the event happened.

A week later, on July 20, some lawmakers called for her to resign. This included members from both major political parties.

On July 22, Kim Cheatle spoke to the United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. She talked about the event involving Donald Trump. She admitted it was "the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades." Many lawmakers asked her to resign during this meeting. Her answers were not very clear, and some people in the audience even laughed. She still said she would not resign. She also did not answer questions about whether the Secret Service had refused requests for more security for Trump.

However, Kim Cheatle resigned from her position on July 23, 2024. Because she received threats, she was given her own security team.