WASHINGTON : After facing heavy criticism for some major breaches of security at the White House, the US Secret Service Director, Julia Pierson, Wednesday announced her resignation. “Today Julia Pierson, the Director of the Secret Serivce, offered her resignation and I accepted it,” Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, said in a statement. “I salute her 30 years to the secret service and the nation.” According to CNN, President Barack Obama accepted the resignation.
In the statement, Johnson said he would appoint Joseph Clancy as interim acting Director.
During a White House briefing, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama had called Pierson to “express his appreciation for her service to the agency and the country.”
“The President concluded that new leadership of that agency was required,” Earnest said.
Pierson came under fire after a number of Secret Service security breaches, including an armed man jumping over the White House fence and entering the executive mansion. According to reports in the Washington Post, the man dashed through the unlocked front door of the White House and into the East Room while armed with a knife.
He reportedly overpowered a Secret Service agent near the main foyer before eventually being tackled by an off-duty agent who was leaving work for the day.
After the Sept 19 incident, several other security blunders came to light. An armed, ex-convict was allowed in an elevator with Obama during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month. And officers fumbled their response to a 2011 incident where a gunman fired at the White House residence.
On Tuesday, Pierson was grilled by members of the House Oversight Committee over the lapses. She said the recent intrusion was “unacceptable” and acknowledged the agency’s failures in following security protocol.
“I take full responsibility,” she said. “It will never happen again.”
A number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called on Pierson to resign following the hearing.