The Secret Service is preparing for a leadership change after Deputy Director Matt Quinn announced that he will leave the role. Quinn said Friday, October 16, 2026, that his resignation will take effect November 7, ending an 18-month return to the agency.
At the request of Secret Service Director Sean Curran, Quinn came out of retirement and returned to the agency in May 2025. He had previously retired in 2021 after a 23-year career with the Secret Service. For a federal agency, that is a fairly substantial encore, and Quinn’s letter makes clear that he viewed the return as a mission rather than the beginning of another permanent career.
Quinn announced the decision in a message to Secret Service personnel, writing, “Today I informed the men and women of the @SecretService that I will be transitioning out of my role as Deputy Director. Director Curran and I have been working on a thoughtful transition plan for months now. Proud of the men & women of the USSS and all your accomplishments!”
NewsNation was the first outlet to report on Quinn’s resignation. The announcement does not read like a public attack on Curran or the agency. Instead, Quinn described a planned departure and pointed to the work already done to prepare the Secret Service for the future. That is a remarkably tidy explanation by Washington standards, where even a routine personnel move can sometimes be treated like a five-act political thriller.
“I also told the Director last year that one of my goals was to work myself out of this job as quickly as possible,” Quinn wrote. “No timeline, just the right time, and I believe that time is now. Part of that calculus is for personal reasons, but most of all it is knowing that the Secret Service is well-positioned for the future.”
Quinn said he was especially proud of transforming the agency’s leadership team and increasing law enforcement staffing during his tenure. According to Quinn, the Secret Service recorded a net gain of 929 law enforcement personnel this year, compared with 87 last year, which he described as a 722% increase. Those figures are Quinn’s account of the agency’s staffing progress.
In his resignation letter, Quinn said that he and Curran first discussed the deputy director position in April 2025. Quinn arrived with several issues he considered deal breakers, but said he quickly learned that the two were aligned and that Curran’s vision exceeded his expectations.
Quinn also pointed to progress involving operations, human capital, resources and physical assets, training, and technology. He cited efforts to rightsize the organization, build new programs, deploy new capabilities, provide resiliency tents and food for personnel at major events, and finally allow earbuds on work phones. That last item may sound small, but anyone who has dealt with government technology knows that basic improvements can sometimes be treated like moon landings.
Quinn said his return was never intended to become a long-term second career. He wanted to support Curran and help bring rapid, effective change across the organization. He also emphasized the Secret Service’s tradition of promoting from within, saying he wanted to help ensure the agency would not need to look outside its ranks to fill the deputy director role again.
Quinn’s departure is scheduled for November 7, 2026. His stated reasons are personal considerations and confidence that the agency is positioned for the future, while his letter highlights staffing, leadership, training, technology, and execution. In other words, this transition is being presented as a planned handoff, not a Washington spectacle.
Today I informed the men and women of the @SecretService that I will be transitioning out of my role as Deputy Director. Director Curran and I have been working on a thoughtful transition plan for months now. Proud of the men & women of the USSS and all your accomplishments!
— U.S. Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn (@SecretSvcDepDir) October 16, 2026
🚨🚨🚨@RCPolitics EXCLUSIVE: FULL STORY behind the resignation of the Secret Service’s No. 2 today — Deputy Director Matt Quinn — among a series of drone controversies.
Did the Secret Service shoot down its own drone over the Army-Navy football game last year in a… pic.twitter.com/lNraKf0EFF
— Susan Crabtree (@susancrabtree) October 16, 2026
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