“One more milestone.” – Jane Hall
Barack Obama, the US president, has named Julia Pierson as the first female chief of the Secret Service, the elite protection branch which was marred by a prostitution scandal in Colombia last year.
Pierson, who most recently served as the agency’s chief of staff, will take over from Mark Sullivan, who announced his retirement last month.
She joins a notably male team around Obama, who had been criticised for bringing in several men advisers for his second term, which started in January.
“Over her 30 years of experience with the Secret Service, Julia has consistently exemplified the spirit and dedication the men and women of the service demonstrate every day,” Obama said in a statement.
Pierson’s appointment as director of the Secret Service, which protects the president and his family and investigates currency counterfeiting and fraud, does not require Senate confirmation. Read more
