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U.S. Secret Service Assistant Director Tony Ornato has retired from the agency. Ornato became a household name after former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told the House select committee investigating the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, that Ornato was in the presidential limousine with former President Donald Trump after he delivered a speech at the Ellipse.
Hutchinson testified that Ornato told her that Trump became irate and lunged at agents after he was told that they could not drive him to the U.S. Capitol.
Ornato said he was willing to testify about what happened but has not been called as a witness by the committee.
Ornato said that his retirement had been planned for a year, and his decision was not influenced by Hutchinson's testimony.
"I did retire today to pursue a career in the private sector," Ornato told NBC News. "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. I long-planned to retire and have been planning this transition for more than a year."
Ornato was the head of Trump's protective detail, but in 2019 he became the White House deputy chief of staff for operations. After the brief stint in the White House, Ornato returned to the Secret Service to help the agency train new agents.