Director Basham to become Commissioner of Customs

On May 16th, the U.S. Senate Committe on Finance is scheduled to "consider favorably" a proposal to recommend to the Senate the confirmation of Secret Service Director Ralph Basham to become the Commissioner of Customs, Department of Homeland Security.

Any word on who is the front runner to replace Basham?

Will he be more likely than Basham to issue retired ID cards to retired agents than Basham, who publicly announced that he was opposed to HR-218?

The answer is........... Mark Sullivan.

See his announcement below.


From: Headquarters (Director) File: 175.040

To: All Employees

Subject: Message from Director Sullivan


This morning, I had the privilege of being sworn in as the 22nd Director of
the United States Secret Service by Secretary Chertoff. I now look forward
to serving all of the fine men and women of this distinguished agency as we
focus on our important mission.

I want to express my gratitude to Director Basham for the significant
contributions he made to the Secret Service during his tenure. At the same
time, I want to share my appreciation to each of you, the men and women of
the Secret Service, who, through your hard work and dedication, have
maintained our long-standing tradition of excellence since our agency's
inception. It is by this tradition of excellence that we are defined and
recognized as being the best at what we do. The commitment to mission has
set us apart as an agency and will continue to be our priority as we move
forward.

I have had the privilege to serve as a member of the Secret Service for more
than 23 years. During this time, I have benefited from serving in a number
of different capacities and with a number of extraordinary people. As a
result, I have gained a unique perspective and a profound respect for the
work done every day by the men and women of this agency. It is what
continues to make me proud to be a part of such a talented team of public
servants.

The Secret Service is an agency that has been defined and driven by our
unique dual missions of protection and investigations, which takes not only
a highly skilled and diverse workforce, but a commitment to meeting
challenges and adapting to change.
There's no doubt that today's security environment presents distinct
challenges for our agency and reminds us that the strength of our future is
directly tied to the expertise we have acquired and demonstrated throughout
our past. I have every confidence that we will meet the challenges that
lie ahead.

I consider it an honor and a privilege to serve as your Director, and I give
you my word that I will remain steadfast and dedicated to the protective and
investigative missions of this great agency.

Headquarters (Director) Sullivan