One of the most contentious issues of the 2024 presidential election — at least since that fateful July day in Butler, Pennsylvania — has been the leadership, or lack thereof, of the United States Secret Service (USSS).

The director of the USSS at the time of the first assassination attempt against Donald Trump, Kim Cheadle, resigned after failing to adequately address questions about the agency's ability to protect the former president. Stories emerged about overworked protection details, requests for additional security for Trump being denied, and general chaos and ineptitude by federal law enforcement on the ground in Butler on July 13, 2024. 

Cheadle's replacement, acting director Ronald Rowe, seemed to be a marginal improvement and at least admitted he was "ashamed" of the security gaps that occurred in Butler. Conservative media guru Dan Bongino, himself a former Secret Security agent, often talked on his radio show about Rowe not being a great choice to lead the agency, both in the short term and the long term. 

That leads us to today, one week since Donald Trump was sent by voters back to the White House, with a nice mandate to boot. His election has many federal employees nervous, with good reason, about what's to come. The USSS is no different in this regard, although it's likely that many of the agents are pleased to, once again, be serving President/President-elect Trump.

So, the question is who will he tap to head up the USSS? Well, it turns out the leading contender is a familiar face. No, it's not Dan Bongino, although he may be in the running, it's Sean Curran, the man to Trump's left in the iconic, infamous photo of the moments after President Trump was shot in the ear.

According to an exclusive report by RealClearPolitics (RCP), Curran, who is said to be very close to the former and future president, is the odds-on favorite to become the next director of the Secret Service.

RCP's Susan Crabtree shared the details on X/Twitter:

‼️ EXCLUSIVE to @RCPolitics: Sources in the Secret Service community tell me that Sean Curran, who has been close to Trump for years and led his detail during the campaign, is a leading candidate for Secret Service director.

Curran is photographed in the iconic photo of Trump,… pic.twitter.com/BpJ5vXyW0b

— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) November 12, 2024

Crabtree reports that Curran was an early voice demanding additional resources be allocated to Trump's personal detail, something that was repeatedly rejected by Kim Cheadle's USSS.

Curran was the lead advocate for more security resources for Trump -- both at Mar-a-Lago and for two years on the campaign trail. Until the assassination attempt, however, Secret Service leaders rejected many of his repeated requests for more assets to protect Trump at rallies.

Dan Bongino may also still be a candidate for the job.

Other names suggested by current and former Secret Service agents and officers include Dan Bongino, popular conservative commentator and podcast host who spent 11 years as a Secret Service agent and has been highly critical of the agency in the wake of the two assassination attempts against Trump. Curran and Bongino are also close, having worked together when both were assigned in Moscow, as Bongino has referred to on his Rumble podcast.

It's hard to imagine Bongino would leave behind his successful media empire to go back into federal law enforcement, but he's close to Trump and may have a hard time turning Trump down were he to ask.

There's a third candidate, according to RCP: Tom Armas, "a U.S. Marine general who also previously served several years as a Secret Service agent but spent the majority of his career in the Marines. Armas worked with Bongino in the Secret Service's New York Field Office. Armas is also well-known for his 9/11 heroism after he ran into the near-collapsing World Trade buildings and carried people out, saving many lives."

Any of these three possible candidates would be a vast improvement over the diversity-obsessed Secret Service of the last several years. Donald Trump has often voiced his appreciation for the agents and their willingness to put their lives on the line for him and other protectees. His eventual choice will, hopefully, be the right pick to return the once-vaunted agency to its past glory.

Editor's Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.