The self-praise came promptly: the Secret Service had in the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association press dinner behaved in an almost “admirable” manner. At the event in Washington’s Hilton Hotel, we saw exactly what the brave men and women of the service do every day to protect high-ranking politicians, said Sean Curran, the director of the Secret Service on Saturday evening, shortly after the perpetrator’s arrest.
This arrest showed that the complex control system was working. President Donald Trump also confirmed again on Sunday with a view to the Secret Service that he was surrounded by great people when he and his wife Melania were taken from the ballroom stage. That won’t be the last word.
There was a massive security problem in Butler
Even if the security guard reacted with presence of mind and prevented the perpetrator from getting to the ballroom, in which numerous Cabinet members and representatives of the congressional leadership were sitting alongside the President and Vice President – the question remains: How was he able to get to this place in the first place?
The Washington Post reports that the government did not classify the event at the security level typical for such gatherings. This means that the full resources were not used. A hearing has been scheduled in the Senate. The director will have to answer questions there soon.
Curran knows the problem from theory and practice. Before Trump made him director of the Secret Service in January 2025, he was responsible for personal security for the Republican candidate and then the president-elect. He was among the officers who brought Trump to safety in July 2024 after the shooting at a MAGA rally in Butler.
There was a massive security failure at the time because the roof of a building from which the bomber fired was not on the service’s radar. The then director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned.
Curran, born in New Jersey in 1976, started with the Secret Service in September 2001 – and experienced the reorganization of the security apparatus in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The Secret Service was placed under the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. He was previously assigned to the Ministry of Finance – combating currency counterfeiting was the service’s original task.
Curran was already part of Barack Obama’s personal security guard. Under Trump, he then became head of personal security for the president as a “special agent” – responsible for 85 people. As director of the Secret Service, he has 8,000 employees.
