James Murray, director of the Secret Service, resigns and joins Snap

Director James M. Murray was appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2019 and is leaving the agency after nearly three decades.< /p>

WASHINGTON — The director of the Secret Service announced Thursday that he would retire at the end of the month after a 27-year career with the agency responsible for protecting the president of in the United States.

Director James M. Murray has accepted a position with the social media company Snap, known for its app of messaging, Snapchat, an agency spokesperson said.

Mr. Murray was nominated by President Donald J. Trump in 2019 after Mr. Trump was let down by the agency's director at the time, Randolph D. Alles. The Director of the Secret Service is appointed by the President and does not need to be confirmed by the Senate.

"Joining the Secret Service was the most single thing I've ever taken," Murray wrote in a letter to agency employees on Thursday. "Deciding it's time to move on, however, has been one of the hardest."

In April, Mr Murray told Secretary to Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, whose sprawling department includes the Secret Service, that he planned to retire and take a job outside of government, Murray said in the letter.

In a joint statement, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden expressed their gratitude to Murray. "We are extremely grateful for his service to our country and our family," they said.

The Secret Service has been in the spotlight in recent days after more details were revealed about Mr. Trump's actions on January 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol building in an attempt to halt the routine process of certification of presidential election results.

Mr. Trump's protective detail was with him throughout that day. In testimony last week before the House committee investigating the attack, a former White House aide said she was told Mr Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the vehicle presidential and had thrown himself on his main secret service agent after learning that he could not go. at the Capitol.