Obama names Joseph Clancy to lead Secret Service rather than outsider

President Obama on Wednesday tapped Joseph Clancy, interim head of the Secret Service, to run the agency full time after years of controversies came to a head last fall.

Clancy, a veteran of the Secret Service who has served in Obama’s protective detail, has been interim director since October, when agency head Julia Pierson resigned under pressure.

In January, the agency demoted four senior officials as it continued to deal with fallout from a series of security lapses, including a September incident when a man scaled the White House fence and made his way into the residence.

Obama administration officials have lauded Clancy for helping to implement multiple short term improvements to prevent breaches. Those enhancements included directing all White House ground personnel to undergo practical training and calls for additional funding for that effort.

In addition to the September fence jumper, concern was raised after an armed guard who did not have security clearance was able to ride in an elevator with Obama while he was visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta last year. The Secret Service had also faced criticism two years earlier when agents were involved in soliciting prostitutes ahead of Obama’s visit to Colombia for a conference.

A panel assembled last month by the Department of Homeland Security has called for a series of improvements, including a redesigned White House fence and additional training for staff.

“Acting Director Clancy is a dedicated public servant who has made important chances since he began the job and has started the process of reforming the service,” said Tom Perrelli, a former Department of Justice official who is on the DHS panel. “I look forward to working with him as he continues to implement the panel’s recommendations.”

White House officials have lauded Clancy for acting on recommendations by the panel that include making crucial personnel changes. The high-level officials reassigned within the agency came from various departments including protective operations and investigations.

With Obama’s appointment of Clancy on Wednesday, the president rejected calls from some members of Congress and the special panel for the agency to be run by an outsider.

“It is disappointing the president ignored the recommendation from the independent panel,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight Committee. “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.’ ”

kurtis.lee@latimes.com

Lee reported from Los Angeles and Parsons from Washington.