Alejandro Mayorkas, who has directed the DHS since Joe Biden took office, oversees several agencies – the U.S. Secret Service among them. That organization has come under fire since the July 13 assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Now President-elect Trump is entrusting South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to right the ship at the DHS. (See current list of Trump's picks)
Ken Valentine served 24 years with the Secret Service, including 10 years with the Presidential Protection detail. He believes the opportunity is there for Noem to do better than Mayorkas.
"The last secretary of Homeland Security [Mayorkas] saw fit to not protect the border and to not give good leadership to law enforcement agencies like the Secret Service," Valentine argues. "So, any movement in the other direction is a positive in my book. Now, Governor Noem has the opportunity to do so much better – so, I'm excited about the possibility that her nomination brings."
Valentine contends Noem will have "a lot to weed through" once she is confirmed.
"They've got a lot of bureaucracy between the law enforcement agencies that are actually doing the work of defending the homeland and the secretary," he tells AFN. "I'd like to see some shaking of the trees, some cleaning of the house, and appointment of a new Secret Service director who's going to focus on the mission and propel that agency back forward."
Valentine is author of the book "Cheating Death: Three-time Presidential Secret Service Agent Lives to Tell You How."
