The secretive board overseeing the Capitol Police has narrowed its search down to two choices for the next chief of the department: former Phoenix Police Chief Michael Sullivan and former Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the private deliberations. The people said a final decision was expected imminently.
Before serving as interim in Phoenix, Sullivan had stints at the Baltimore Police Department as deputy commissioner of compliance and deputy commissioner of operations, according to his Linkedin profile. He’s also been a deputy chief at the Louisville Metro Police Department.
Alles, a former Marine Corps major general, served as the director of the Secret Service during President Donald Trump’s first term before departing the role in April 2019 as part of a department-wide shakeup. Trump derisively referred to Alles as “Dumbo,” the New York Times reported at the time. Since then, he served in a senior role at the Department of Homeland Security until March of this year, according to Alles’ LinkedIn profile.
Notably, the Capitol Police Board appears poised to go outside the department for a chief yet again, passing over Sean Gallagher, the interim head of the department and assistant chief, who has been with the department for more than two decades and served in a wide variety of roles across the agency. Gallagher was part of the leadership team during the Jan. 6 insurrection, weathered a no-confidence vote by the union and eventually worked to help stabilize the agency after a time of tectonic tumult.
The union signaled it was opposed to Gallagher’s selection as interim chief, with union chair Gus Papathanasiou saying in a Tuesday statement: “We’re astounded the Board would even consider [Gallagher] for the role. The Capitol Police force cannot continue to see problem officers ‘fail upwards’, winning promotions instead of demotions commensurate with their actions.”
The Capitol Police Board is composed of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Jennifer Hemingway, House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland and Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin. They are tasked with replacing former chief Thomas Manger, who retired last month after four years at the helm.
The board’s potential choice of another outside candidate, instead of promoting internally within the Capitol Police ranks, signals residual doubts about those who were in leadership roles for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
“They’re going to have to learn about our mission, the uniqueness of it, but the structure of oversight as well, and there is a learning curve there,” Manger said in a recent interview, talking about anyone who comes to lead Capitol Police from an outside law enforcement agency.
Others who had been in the mix included external and internal candidates from the force, including former Deputy Chief JJ Pickett, Deputy Chief Tom Loyd, and Assistant Chief Jason Bell.
