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April 8 (UPI) -- Secret Service Director Randolph "Tex" Alles plans to depart his position, two years after taking control of the agency, the White House announced Monday. Unnamed administration officials told CNN that President Donald Trump asked acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to fire Alles.
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"United States Secret Service director Randolph 'Tex' Alles has done a great job at the agency over the last two years, and the president is thankful for his over 40 years of service to the country," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said. "Mr. Alles will be leaving shortly and President Trump has selected James M. Murray, a career member of the USSS, to take over as director beginning in May."
An unnamed source told NBC News the decision to seek Alles' resignation was made nearly two weeks ago, before a Chinese woman entered Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, prompting security questions.
"This was not based on any single event," the source said.
Trump selected Alles to head the Secret Service in April 2017. Before that, he was acting deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Alles retired from the military in 2011 after a 35-year career as a major general. He was the first Secret Service director in a century to have not served in the agency beforehand. His appointment came amid scrutiny of the agency over a number of scandals and security concerns.
The Secret Service, a law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security, is tasked with currency and Treasury securities counterfeiting issues, and more prominently, protecting former and current government leaders.
At the time of Alles' appointment, the agency was handling a series of glaring errors, including its response to a man who, on March 10, 2017, climbed fences to gain entry to the White House grounds and stood on the building's portico for 17 minutes before he was apprehended. The Secret Service updated security protocols and fired two agents who were on duty at the time.
Alles was a Marine pilot and commanding general of the Third Aircraft Wing in Iraq. He oversaw the 60,000 employees at CBP, including the U.S. Border Patrol.
Alles' departure comes one day after Trump announced the resignation of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, whose department oversaw the Secret Service.
