President Barack Obama on Tuesday chose veteran agent Julia Pierson as Secret Service director, the first woman to lead the male-dominated agency, a year after its reputation was tarnished by a scandal involving agents and prostitutes in Colombia.
Pierson will replace Mark Sullivan, who retired in February and was in charge during the Colombia scandal – one of the worst in the agency’s history.
The Secret Service has been criticized for having an insular, male-dominated culture, and Pierson’s appointment also comes as Obama fends off criticism that his second-term picks for high-level posts have not included enough women and minority candidates.
Pierson, a native of Florida, is currently chief of staff at the Secret Service and began her career as a special agent with the Miami field office in 1983. The director’s position does not require confirmation by the US Senate.
“Julia is eminently qualified to lead the agency that not only safeguards Americans at major events and secures our financial system, but also protects our leaders and our first families, including my own,” Obama said in a statement.
Starting in 1988, Pierson served four years with the Presidential Protective Division, and she became deputy assistant director of the Office of Protective Operations in 2005.
The Secret Service has been trying to rebuild its image after the April 2012 scandal when agency employees in Cartagena ahead of a visit by Obama took prostitutes to their hotel rooms.
It led to an official investigation that concluded that the president’s safety had not been compromised, but the scandal was a big embarrassment for the agency.
–Agencies