The Secret Service is planning to add several agents who previously worked with President-elect Biden when he served as vice president on his presidential detachment in the coming weeks, The Washington Post reported.
While it is not uncommon for personnel changes to be made for the presidential deployment when a new government takes office, the new changes come as allies of the new president expressed concern about how some agents might align with President Trump
Donald Trump Trump to shorten the trip to Florida, returns to Washington on Thursday Intel vice president says government agency cyber attack “may have started earlier” Secret Service making changes to presidential details amid concerns over members current aligned with Trump, noted the Post.
The Secret Service has faced scrutiny in recent months after reports that some agents have been instructed by members of the presidential gang to give up their masks when they were close to Trump. The office also attracted attention last year, after allowing Anthony Ornato, who previously headed the current government’s detachment, to serve as a political adviser in the White House.
In a statement to the Post, Catherine Milhoan, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the office “remains firmly dedicated to a standard of excellence in these operations, in a totally apolitical way and not affiliated with the political parties of the protégés”.
“As a matter of practice and due to operational security, the agency does not comment on protection operations, including internal decisions about the agency’s duties,” she added.
The Hill also contacted the Secret Service for comment.
According to the Post, Darryl Volpicelli and Brian McDonough are among the supervisory agents who served in the previous administration and are expected to be added soon to Biden’s deployment. Volpicelli is said to serve as the team’s second-in-command and McDonough as a senior supervisor.
David Cho, who helped lead the protective class during the current administration, will also help lead the next administration’s presidential class.
A former Secret Service executive told the Post that it is “smart to give the new president the comfort of the familiar.”
“You want him to be with people he knows and trusts, and who also know how he operates,” they added.