A top Secret Service official—the head of the Uniformed Division—announced his retirement Monday, less than a week into the tenure of new Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex" Alles.
Kevin Simpson, the chief of the Uniformed Division, is retiring after 28 years, effective May 31st.
"For nearly three decades, Kevin Simpson was a dedicated professional who served with honor and integrity. His void will be felt by the men and women of the Secret Service with whom he served with unwavering commitment," Alles said in a statement Monday.
Simpson has served as the chief of the Uniformed Division for more than six years, during a particularly difficult time for the agency. Over the past several years, the Secret Service has experienced a spate of security lapses at the White House complex, as well as several misconduct cases involving agents and officers.
As head of the Uniformed Division, Simpson oversaw 1,300 officers whose main responsibility was providing physical security to the White House and the vice president's residence.
His decision to retire so quickly after Alles arrived at the agency fueled speculation Monday that a new era had begun at the agency, three sources in the Secret Service community told the Washington Free Beacon.
Alles, a retired Marine Corp general and former acting deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, is the first Secret Service director in the agency's history to come from outside the agency.
President Trump's decision to choose an outsider and military leader is viewed as an attempt to shake up the Secret Service's insular culture, which critics, including key members of Congress and an independent commission, cite as a factor in security lapses and discipline problems that have plagued the agency in recent years.
A Secret Service source tried to quash speculation within the agency that Simpson was forced out by Alles.
"The chief has been talking about retiring for over the past year," the source said. "He wanted to pick a date that would be good for his family and some things he is dealing with there as well as a good transition period for the deputy chief and for his officers."
Any reports of him "being forced or asked to resign are false," the source added. "This decision and timing was solely his."
The Secret Service noted while announcing his retirement that Simpson had received numerous performance awards and commendations during his 28-year tenure. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and is a member of the International Associations of Chiefs of Police and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, according to the agency release announcing his retirement.
Disputing media accounts that the Secret Service's rank and file would have preferred the selection of an insider, sources within the Secret Service community said many agents and officers are welcoming Alles with open arms. These sources said Alles could stifle a "culture of corruption" among top agency officials, who they argue impose uneven discipline and have a reputation for playing favorites among senior staff.
One agent viewed Simpson's decision to leave as a sign that things are "looking up" at the agency, a source told the Washington Free Beacon.
"The bosses are apprehensive or scared—they may be held to a higher, more accountable standard," the source added.
Simpson's departure comes amid an investigation into a March 10 intrusion at the White House. That night, a man jumped the White House fence and wandered around the South Lawn grounds for nearly 17 minutes before walking up to the back door of the South Portico and announcing he had an appointment to see Trump.
Reacting to the incident, the agency fired two Uniformed Division officers who were on duty that night. The pair had been on the job for a short time and were still in their probationary period so it was easier for the agency to terminate their employment than more senior officers or agents.
However, rank-and-file officers and agents believed senior managers deserved some culpability for the March 10 incident, noting that two inexperienced officers were on the same shift together that night and that sensors from an area of a fence line where the intruder jumped had been removed. Only a more senior officer could make that decision, the sources said.
A Department of Homeland Security inspector general investigation in 2015 implicated Simpson as partly responsible for failing to report the alleged misconduct of two agents who, after a night of drinking, drove into an active White House bomb-threat investigation.
Inspector General John Roth told lawmakers during public testimony that Secret Service supervisors should have reported the incident up the leadership chain but didn't do so, contributing to a culture in which lower-ranking staff fear retribution if they alert agency officials to alleged misconduct.
Roth said Simpson, who heard about the incident through Uniformed Division officers on the ground that night, told investigators that he didn't believe it was his job to report the potential misconduct because the two men involved were agents and didn't fall under his division. Simpson also said he believed others had reported the incident.