President Barack Obama has confidence in the new director of the embattled Secret Service despite an incident last week in which two agents suspected of being under the influence struck a White House security barricade and drove through an active bomb investigation and directly beside the suspicious package.
“When Director Clancy was asked to return to this agency, part of the reason the president selected him was because of his well-known leadership ability and his commitment to making sure that the agency that he spent so many years serving in was being run in the most effective manner and up to the highest standards,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters..
The Department of Homeland Security inspector general is investigation the March 4 events, first reported by the Washington Post.
Schultz declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said Obama was briefed on the situation earlier this week before news reports. “He was disappointed to hear the allegations,” he said.
Published reports indicate a woman approached the southeast entrance of the White House on 15th Street NW holding a package she said was a bomb. She put it on the ground and sped off in her car. Shortly before 11 p.m., two high-ranking agents, returning from a work party at a bar, drove their car through police tape and hit a temporary barricade. The episode was caught on surveillance video.
The Secret Service in January demoted four top-ranking employees following several dangerous security breaches, including an embarrassing September incident in which a man scaled the fence and ran far into the White House through an unlocked front door.
The action came after a panel charged with reviewing the agency said the elite agency is “an organization starved for leadership” that needs more agents, better training and discipline and a new leader from outside the agency.
“Director Clancy is in this position because (he)...does have the full confidence of the president to not only institute the structural reforms he believes are needed atthe Secret Service, but also the cultural changes that both Director Clancy believes are necessary,” Schultz said. “As acting director, he took several important and bold steps to address some of those challenges the agency has been facing over the last little while, and continues to make reforms as the permanent director.”
But the news reports about a new incident prompted new questions Thursday from lawmakers about whether Clancy is capable of turning around the troubled agency.
“While the replacement of much of USSS’ upper management is a step in the right direction, incidents such as this indicate that additional steps to reform the agency must be taken,” wrote House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland to Clancy. “To be clear, in our view, you have much work to do. It is essential that all levels of the agency understand that they will be held accountable for their actions, and that USSS promote future senior and mid-level managers who have not engaged in misconduct. Without such steps, we do not believe agency morale will improve or that USSS will overcome the personnel retention issues it currently faces.”
The lawmakers asked Clancy to provide information about the March 4 incident by next week.
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