|
Clancy, who personally helped guard the lives of three U.S.
presidents, has been head of the agency on an interim basis for
the past four months. Director Julia Pierson stepped down in
October after an embarrassing Sept. 19 White House breach in
which a man carrying a knife jumped the fence and ran into the
executive mansion.
Obama chose Clancy, a 27-year veteran of the Secret Service,
despite the recommendation of an independent review panel in
December that the next director be someone from outside the
agency, which it said had become too insular.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Clancy has "a lot of
credibility built up inside the agency and he used that
credibility to put in place reforms that were recommended by
this outside panel" appointed by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh
Johnson.
"Over the course of the last several months, Director Clancy has
demonstrated the kind of leadership that frankly many of us
expected him to demonstrate," Earnest said at a news briefing.
Republican U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has
investigated the Secret Service's problems, said he was
disappointed Obama did not appoint someone with a fresh
perspective.
"The good men and women of the Secret Service are screaming for
a fresh start," he said in a statement. "At this moment in time,
the Secret Service would best be served by a transformative and
dynamic leader from outside the agency."
Clancy rejoined the service after leaving his job as head of
security for the Comcast <CMCSA.O> media corporation in the
Philadelphia area where he grew up.
In addition to the fence-jumper with a knife in September, the
service's credibility also was damaged in 2012 when it was
revealed that members had hired prostitutes while in Cartagena,
Colombia, in advance of an Obama trip and in 2011 when a man hit
the White House with automatic rifle fire, although the damage
was not discovered until four days later.
(Corrects to "Director" from "Doctor" fifth paragraph)
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Bill
Trott)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
