Support crumbles in Congress for embattled Secret Service chief

Members of Congress are turning on Secret Service Director Julia Pierson following a series of damaging revelations about security failures at the White House.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) will call for Pierson’s resignation on Wednesday at a press conference in New York, according to a spokeswoman, and members of both parties are beginning to suggest a change in leadership is needed.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said “it’s time for new leadership,” adding that her testimony a day earlier was not confidence inspiring. 

“Now is not the time for our enemies to believe we cannot protect our nation’s Commander in Chief,” he said in a statement. 

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) expressed dwindling confidence in Pierson. He didn’t call for Pierson to resign or be fired, saying that was a decision for President Obama.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, said Pierson should be ousted from the Secret Service, though he later recast his remarks.

An aide to Cummings said the congressman “believes that, if she can’t restore the public’s trust in the agency — and in particular address the cultural issues so agents feel comfortable raising security concerns to their higher-ups — then, of course, she should not be in that position.”

The aide added: “After yesterday’s hearing, and after new revelations last night, the congressman’s trust is eroding, and he believes there needs to be an independent review of the agency.”

Still, Cummings’s remarks highlighted how support for Pierson has dropped sharply in Congress since her shaky performance Tuesday in testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) did not offer support for Pierson on Wednesday and sided with Boehner in calling for an independent investigation into the agency.

Pelosi said it was “inexcusable” that an intruder was able to climb over the White House fence and into the executive mansion and, in a separate incident, that an armed ex-convict was able to enter an elevator with Obama.

“I understand she’s the top person, the buck stops here, and there are those who are calling for her to step aside,” she said. 

“Whether she does so or not, I think we need an independent investigation. Her leaving doesn’t end the need for us to know a lot more about what is happening.”

Cummings said the director has lost public trust after the Secret Service was not completely forthright with the public about the extent of the security breach at the White House on Sept. 19, when Omar Gonzales allegedly scaled a fence and made it to the end of the East Room in the White House with a knife.

While reports initially indicated the intruder was tackled at the door, it was later revealed he made it far into the executive mansion.

The White House said it absolutely retained confidence in the director, but has singled frustration with the agency. Information from the agency should be “accurate and released as soon as possible,” press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday.

Concern among lawmakers about the Secret Service grew after news emerged Tuesday night about an incident last month when an armed security contractor with a criminal record was allowed on an elevator with Obama during a Sept. 16 trip to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

“I think it’s time that she be fired by the president of the United States or that she resign,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) said after the CDC revelation. He heads the Oversight subcommittee on national security.

Boehner said Pierson’s testimony Tuesday created more questions than answers, and he gave his backing for a plan for the Homeland Security Committee to launch an independent investigation.

“The more we discover, the clearer it becomes that the Secret Service is beset by a culture of complacency and incompetence,” Boehner said in a statement. “As such, the president must make a swift determination on whether the agency is being well-served by its current leadership.” 

Other Democrats, including Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), expressed concern with Pierson’s leadership but said a change in leadership would not solve the problem. 

“I have not called for her resignation because I believe the problem goes beyond personnel,” Holmes Norton said. “She was brought in to correct a problem. That was a problem with agents essentially doing things off duty that they shouldn’t have been doing — with drinking and carousing. OK, maybe she corrected that problem. Now, we’ll bring in someone to correct another aspect of the problem? That is not enough here.”

Rep. Gerry Connelly, a Democrat from Virginia, said he is “deeply concerned” with Pierson’s leadership.

“As each damaging revelation drips out only to be met by silence from the Secret Service, my patience is wearing thin,” he said. “Now is not the time for obfuscation, excuses, or silence. Internal leaks from within the Secret Service necessitate clear and transparent communication beyond ‘we do not comment on security operations.’

“If Director Pierson does not act swiftly to enhance transparency and directly communicate with Congress and the American people, my trust in her leadership will continue to diminish and it will be time to reassess whether the director can continue to serve effectively.”