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Obama chooses Joseph Clancy as new Secret Service chief Obama picks Secret Service insider Joseph Clancy as agency director
(35 minutes later)
President Obama has named his acting director and trusted former detail leader, Joseph Clancy as the new permanent leader of the Secret Service, the White House said. President Obama has named his acting director and trusted former detail leader Joseph Clancy as the new permanent leader of the Secret Service, the White House said Wednesday.
Clancy, 59, was considered a likely choice last week, when the White House told candidates the president has made a selection and at least one was told he need not come for formal interviews with Obama. Clancy, 59, was considered a likely choice last week, when the White House told candidates that the president had made a selection and at least one was told he need not come for formal interviews with Obama.
Clancy, who retired as Obama’s detail leader in 2011 for a job as security director for Comcast in his hometown of Philadelphia, had made clear that he would like to have the job permanently. He had never worked in the Secret Service headquarters until the president summoned him back to Washington last fall to temporarily take the helm at the agency in a moment of crisis.
[PAST COVERAGE: Bucking advice, Obama considers Secret Service insider as new director][PAST COVERAGE: Bucking advice, Obama considers Secret Service insider as new director]
Clancy, who retired as Obama’s detail leader in 2011 for a job as security director for Comcast in his hometown of Philadelphia, had made clear he would love the job permanently. He had never previously worked in the Secret Service headquarters, and ousted from their jobs most of his longtime colleagues and friends in leadership roles, including the powerful deputy director. Amid a series of humiliating security lapses, including an intruder who was able to get deep inside the White House and revelations of a botched Secret Service investigation of a shooting at the White House, Obama sought the resignation of then-Director Julia Pierson on Oct. 1.
The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said that leaves the Secret Service without the bold new outside leader that an independent administration panel said was key to reform at the beleaguered agency. But Chaffetz noted he was impressed by Clancy’s effort to answer lawmakers’ question and address dire security problems quickly. Since taking over as acting director in October, Clancy has served as both a calming and fast-acting presence. He has assured nervous lawmakers and an anxious first family that he is on top of the security gaps and staffing shortages that raised doubts about the Secret Service’s ability to protect the president.
“It is disappointing the President ignored the recommendation from the independent panel, appointed by Secretary Johnson, 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,’” he said Under some pressure to act from the Department of Homeland Security, Clancy arranged the ouster of the majority of top leaders at the Secret Service headquarters, who had been criticized as insular and lacking a vision for moving the agency into the 21st century and addressing post-Sept. 11 threats. Many of the people he pushed out, including the powerful deputy director, were longtime friends, fellow detail co-workers — and even onetime bosses.
“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.” The reaction to Obama’s decision from the oversight panel that has closely scrutinized the Secret Service’s failings was mixed. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he choice leaves the Secret Service without a bold new outside leader that an independent administration panel said was key to reform at the beleaguered agency. But Chaffetz noted that he was impressed by Clancy’s effort to answer lawmakers’ questions and address dire security problems quickly.
[RELATED: Panel calls for deep changes at the Secret Service]
“It is disappointing the president ignored the recommendation from the independent panel, appointed by Secretary [Jeh] Johnson, to select a director from outside the Secret Service,” he said. “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.’ ”
He added: “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.”
But Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (Md.), the panel’s ranking Democrat, cheered the choice.
“Joe Clancy has taken strong action over the past several months to begin righting the ship at the Secret Service, he has been extremely responsive to Congress and his decisive leadership has already resulted in major changes,” Cummings said. “I look forward to working with him closely over the next year to ensure that the Secret Service gets what it needs to fulfill its critical mission.”
The Department of Homeland Security created the independent panel to research the causes of the security failures and urge steps for reform. Its highest priority recommendation: hire a new director from outside to bring fresh eyes to the agency.
But Obama signaled to friends that his trust in Clancy trumped other concerns.
Joe Hagin, a deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush and a member of the panel, called Clancy a “consummate professional” and said that the most important factor for a president is that he and his family trust the Secret Service director.
Hagin, who knew Clancy when he was worked on Bush’s detail, said Clancy’s work at Comcast gives him some outside perspective.
“He’s also been in the private sector and seen different management styles,” said Hagin, who now works at Command Consulting in Washington. “He’s had experiences beyond his career in the Secret Service, and that’s very valuable.”
Hagin added that “one reason the panel recommended an outsider is that it’s difficult to take tough action against colleagues and friends. Joe has in the last few weeks done just that. He’s taken very difficult and tough personnel decisions. That’s what they need.”
At the White House, press secretary Josh Earnest announced the news Wednesday.
“Mr. Clancy has demonstrated a willingness to conduct a candid, clear-eyed assessment of the shortcomings of that agency, and that’s precisely why he was promoted to the permanent role,” he said. “His willingness to use his credibility in the agency to implement the reforms is the best of both worlds.”
Earnest added that it was not a foregone conclusion that Clancy would be tapped for the permanent role after he replaced Pierson.
“His solid performance last month in implementing the needed changes in the agency served him well,” he said.