Paul Douglas Irving (born August 1957) is an American former law enforcement officer who served as the

Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives The sergeant at arms of the United States House of Representatives is an officer of the House with law enforcement, protocol, and administrative responsibilities. The sergeant at arms is elected at the beginning of each Congress by the membersh ...

from January 17, 2012, until January 7, 2021, succeeding Wilson Livingood in that post. He resigned due to his inability to fulfill his duty during the

January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...

Early life and education

Irving was born in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, in 1957. In 1979, Irving earned a bachelor's degree in justice from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

. In 1982, he earned a J.D. degree from

Whittier Law School Whittier Law School was a law school in Costa Mesa, California founded in 1966. The law school was part of Whittier College, a private institution. After several years being ranked among the poorest-performing law schools in the United States ba ...

Career

From 1980 to 1983, Irving served as a clerk in the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

field office. In 1983, Irving joined the

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security tasked with conducting criminal investigations and providing protection to American political leaders, thei ...

, where he served as a supervisory agent in the Presidential Protection Division, as Deputy Assistant Director for Congressional Affairs, and as Assistant Director for Administration. In 2003, Irving was assigned to the

Executive Office of the President The Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) comprises the offices and agencies that support the work of the president at the center of the executive branch of the United States federal government. The office consists o ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

during the Secret Service's transition to the

United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the Interior minister, interior, Home Secretary ...

. Irving retired from the Secret Service in 2008. Following his retirement from the Secret Service, Irving became president and managing partner of his family's real estate investment firm, and subsequently joined

Command Consulting Group Command Group, "CG", founded as Command Consulting Group, is an international security and intelligence consulting firm, founded in 2009, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. CG provides advisory services for governments, corporation ...

, an international security and intelligence consulting firm, where he was a senior security consultant in the firm's

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

headquarters, and managing director of the firm's office in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

.H.Res. XX — Privileged Resolution Electing the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives-The Republican Study Committee
On January 17, 2012, Irving was named the House Sergeant at Arms. Irving rose to prominence after the

Responding to the 2021 Capitol attack

On January 4, Capitol Police chief

Steven Sund Steven A. Sund (born 6 April 1972) is a retired American law enforcement official, author and public speaker. Sund was a member of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for 25 years, where he was commander of the force's Special Operations ...

requested additional D.C. National Guard support from Irving and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael C. Stenger. That request was denied. Sund claims Irving's refusal cited concerns about "optics", though Irving disputes this claim. On January 6 at around 1:00 p.m., hundreds of

Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

supporters clashed with officers and pushed through barriers along the perimeter of the Capitol. The crowd swept past barriers and officers, with some members of the mob spraying officers with

chemical agent A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as a ...

s or hitting them with lead pipes. Representative

Zoe Lofgren Susan Ellen "Zoe" Lofgren ( ; born December 21, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer serving as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Part ...

(D– CA), aware that rioters had reached the Capitol steps, was unable to reach Capitol police chief Steven Sund by phone; Irving told Lofgren the doors to the Capitol were locked and "nobody can get in". At 1:09, Sund called Irving and Stenger and asked them for an emergency declaration required to call in the D.C. National Guard; they both told Sund they would "run it up the chain". Irving called back with formal approval an hour later. Irving would later deny the 1:09 p.m. conversation took place, though the call was substantiated by phone records. On January 7, 2021, House Speaker

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

announced that Irving would be submitting his resignation as Sergeant at Arms. Sund and Stenger also resigned from their posts.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Paul D. 1957 births Living people Sergeants at Arms of the United States House of Representatives United States Secret Service agents American consultants Law enforcement officials from Washington, D.C. January 6 United States Capitol attack American University School of Public Affairs alumni Whittier Law School alumni Law enforcement officials from Los Angeles Law enforcement officials from Miami People from Tampa, Florida 20th-century United States government officials 21st-century United States government officials