Search for Secret Service Leader Intensifies as White House Security Is Tested -
By NICHOLAS FANDOSMARCH 22, 2017
WASHINGTON — In the century or so since Congress first assigned the Secret Service the task of protecting
the president of the United States, its top job has always gone to an agency veteran.
“The U. S. Secret Service is a vital federal law enforcement partner
and the White House is working closely with Secretary Kelly on filling this important position,” Michael Short, a White House spokesman, said on Tuesday.
“If you are going to turn the security and safety of your family over to someone, the president needs to weigh in.”
John F. Kelly, the secretary of Homeland Security, whose department includes the Secret Service, will also have a say in the decision.
Patrick O’Carroll, a former Secret Service agent who is the executive director of the Federal
Law Enforcement Officers Association, said Mr. Clancy’s successor would have a daunting task.
Aides to President Trump are narrowing a list of candidates to lead the Secret Service, the beleaguered agency
that protects the country’s top government officials and investigates certain crimes.
Critics of the agency have seized on the most recent cases to amplify calls for the White House to recruit a leader
from outside the Secret Service, which would be unprecedented in the famously hidebound agency’s modern history.