James M. Murray
James M. Murray is an American former law enforcement officer who served as the 26th director of [the United States Secret Service] from 2019 to 2022.
Early life and education
Born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, Murray attended St. Rose High School. Murray earned a bachelor's degree from the private University of Scranton and a master's degree from the private Seton Hall University.Career
Murray began his career in law enforcement as a Special Agent/Investigator with the United [States Department of Transportation]. He joined the Secret Service in 1995 as a Special Agent in the New York Field Office, where he investigated cyber-enabled financial crimes and served as the agency's representative for the FBI–New [York City Police Department|NYPD] Joint Terrorism Task Force. In 2001, he transferred to the Presidential Protective Division, which safeguards the President and his immediate family. In 2005, he was promoted to Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge of Presidential Protection.In 2007, Murray became the Secret Service's liaison to the United States Congress and all entities on Capitol Hill. He served as the operational site supervisor for multiple National Special Security Events, including the inauguration of Barack Obama|inauguration] of President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009. Afterwards, he became the Resident Agent in Charge of the Secret Service's Atlantic City Resident Office. In 2012, Murray became the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the James J. Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland.
In 2014, Murray became the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service's Washington, D.C. Field Office. He was promoted to the position and continued to lead the field office until 2016. From 2016 to 2018, he served as Deputy Assistant Director of Protective Operations, during which he led combined agency efforts for the presidential campaigns ahead of the 2016 [United States presidential election|2016 U.S. presidential election], the presidential transition of Donald Trump|presidential transition], and the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. He returned to the James J. Rowley Training Center as the Special Agent in Charge.
In April 2018, Murray became the Assistant Director of the Office of Protective Operations and was responsible for the planning, coordination, and administration of the agency's global protective mission. On April 8, 2019, President Donald Trump removed Randolph Alles as Director of the U.S. Secret Service and named Murray as his replacement. He took office on May 1, 2019.
On July 7, 2022, Murray announced his retirement as Secret Service Director, to take effect July 30, 2022. Murray will take the role of Chief Security Officer at Snap Inc., parent company of Snapchat, on August 1, 2022. However, he announced on July 28, 2022 that he would "briefly" delay his retirement, in connection with the investigation into missing Secret Service records. He left office on September 17, 2022.