Jill Biden’s office backed Kimberly Cheatle as Secret Service chief: Who is she and why is Elon Musk slamming her?

Trump assassination bid: Following the assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump on July 14(Indian time), Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle has been facing calls to resign. Reports mentioned that Jill Biden's office advocated for Kim Cheatle's appointment as the Secret Service director.

The director called the shooting ‘unacceptable’, and had said she would not resign, as per US media reports.

Who is Kimberly Cheatle?

Cheatle is the 27th director of the US Secret Service, and has been in service for two years, from September 2022. Currently, Cheatle leads a team of 7,800 Special Agents, Uniformed Division Officers, Technical Law Enforcement Officers, and Administrative, Professional, and Technical personnel.

Before taking leadership of the Secret Service, Cheatle served as Senior Director in Global Security at PepsiCo. She was involved in risk management assessment and risk mitigation strategies at the company.

Previously, Cheatle had also served in the US Secret Service for 27 years. She headed 10 operational divisions and the Technical Security Division. As part of this team, she looked after the research, and development of technologies that reduce risks to protectees, protected facilities, and protected events.

While some reports mention that the chief was well-liked by the US First Lady, some other sources have also appreciated her as “a very competent agent,” reported the New York Post.

As Kimberly Cheatle faces scrutiny, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also commented about the chief’s career trajectory, who had earlier worked in Pepsico. “So before being in charge of protecting the President, she was guarding bags of Cheetos,” wrote Musk, on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Donald Trump latest news

The current Republican Party presidential pick appeared with bandaged ears at the Republican National Convention. This is Trump's first public appearance after surviving Thomas Matthew Crook's assassination attempt on July 14(Indian time).

While the crowd took to wild cheers, Trump remained silent while smiling and waving at them.