Cheatle joined the United States Secret Service in 1995.[7] She was involved in the evacuation of Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney during the September 11 attacks and served on Joe Biden's protective detail during the Obama administration, when she was assigned to the Vice Presidential Protective Division.[8] In 2017 and 2018, she served as deputy assistant director. She served as special-agent-in-charge in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, office. She became the first woman to serve as assistant director of Protective Operations, a unit tasked with protection of the President of the United States and dignitaries.[9]
From 2019 to 2022, Cheatle served as senior director of global security at PepsiCo.[10][11]
In 2021, President Joe Biden awarded Cheatle a Presidential Rank Award for exceptional performance.[12] In August 2022, President Biden announced the appointment of Cheatle as director of the United States Secret Service,[13] and she assumed office on September 17, 2022.[2] Cheatle took over the Secret Service following "a turbulent couple of months in which the agency best known for protecting presidents has faced controversies related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol."[14]
Cheatle told CBS News the agency needed to "attract diverse candidates and give opportunities to everybody in the workforce, particularly women," outlining her goal that by 2030, thirty percent of its recruits would be female.[15]
In April 2024, after a female agent on Vice President Kamala Harris's detail attacked her superior officer and other agents, U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer requested a briefing with Cheatle to address issues regarding hiring, training and disciplinary processes. The Secret Service downplayed reports of a petition circulating within the agency alleging security vulnerabilities arising from these processes.[16][17] Cheatle's previous statements regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion became a frequent target for criticism by bipartisan commentators after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.[18][19][20][21] The Secret Service called criticism of female agents "misogynistic" and reaffirmed its belief where diversity in recruiting was "helping, not hurting, the effectiveness of its protective teams."[22]
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