Julia Pierson, Director of the Secret Service, resigned on Wednesday following a hearing into the spate of Secret Service failures, some of which happened before she was directing the agency.
Director Jeh Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security announced the resignation via a statement. The Secret Service is under the purview of the DHS, a move questioned by Timothy P Carney, Senior Political Columnist of the Washington Examiner:
Was it mistake to put the Secret Service within DHS?
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— Timothy P Carney (@TPCarney) October 1, 2014
Very good question. The Secret Service has been under the DHS since March of 2003.
This happened as White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest announced that “the President concluded that new leadership of that agency was required.”
The issues at the Secret Service existed before Pierson, who has only been in her position for under two years. The White House residence was shot at in November of 2011, exposing both First Daughters to peril, including Sasha Obama who was in the residence at the time. But top ranking Democrats have expressed their lack of faith in her ability to get the organization under control, including Representative Cummings and even Leader Pelosi.
The interim director will be Joseph Clancy, formerly a Special Agent in Charge of the Presidential Protective Division of the Secret Service.
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