Secret Service assistant director and former deputy chief of staff for former President Donald Trump Tony Ornato announced his retirement Monday, in what has been described as a “significant move,” considering allegations from the Jan. 6 select committee earlier this summer in which Ornato became a central figure. Bombshell testimony by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson revealed Ornato described Trump as “irate” when he was told in the presidential SUV that his security detail wouldn’t take him to the Capitol on Jan. 6. Hutchinson also testified that it was Ornato who told her about the altercation between Trump and Robert Engel, the head of the then-president’s Secret Service detail, when Trump “lunged” toward the steering wheel and at his Secret Service detail when they wouldn’t take him to the Capitol after his Jan. 6 speech. Ornato’s retirement was confirmed to Politico, which reported that “the agency confirmed Ornato’s retirement, which was announced internally earlier in the day.” Ornato follows a number of senior officials in the Secret Service to announce his departure in recent weeks, including Director James Murray. In a statement, Ornato said he retired “to pursue a career in the private sector” and noted he had been planning the move even before the Jan. 6 revelations. “I retired from the U.S. Secret Service after more than 25 years of faithful service to my country, including serving the past five presidents,” he said. “I long planned to retire and have been planning this transition for more than a year.”
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