President Barack Obama has picked a Secret Service veteran to head up the beleaguered agency, countering critics who had suggested it was time for fresh leadership.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Obama has asked Joseph Clancy, a 27-year veteran of the agency who retired in 2011 to serve as permanent director.
Clancy, a former special agent in charge of the presidential protective division, has served as the acting director of the service since last October when director Julia Pierson stepped down after several embarrassing security lapses.
Earnest noted that Clancy had stepped into the role at Obama’s request and has “demonstrated the kind of leadership that frankly many of us expected him to demonstrate.”
Earnest said Clancy has credibility within the agency and has used it to enact reforms recommended by an outside panel convened by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.
“He's got a lot of important work still ahead of him, but we're certainly pleased to see that his leadership thus far has been recognized with this permanent appointment,” Earnest said.
Johnson said he and Obama considered several strong candidates, including some from outside the agency.
“Ultimately, Joe Clancy struck the right balance of familiarity with the Secret Service and its missions, respect from within the workforce, and a demonstrated determination to make hard choices and foster needed change,” Johnson said.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, called it “disappointing” that Obama had ignored the recommendation from the independent panel to select a director from outside the Secret Service.
“The panel made it crystal clear that only a director from outside the agency would meet the needs of the agency today – someone with a fresh perspective, free from allegiances and without ties to what has consistently been described as a ‘good old boys network,’ “ Chaffetz said. “The good men and women of the Secret Service are screaming for a fresh start. At this moment in time, the Secret Service would best be served by a transformative and dynamic leader from outside the agency.”
Still, Chaffetz praised Clancy for making himself available to the committee and taking steps to carry out the panel’s recommendations.
“I look forward to working with him in his new capacity to restore the Secret Service,” he said. “I wish him and the USSS only the best."
Comments