New Secret Service Director Joe Clancy walked away from a budget hearing on Tuesday with a stern order from Congress: Fix your agency, and fast.
The hearing before the House Appropriations Committee came a week after reports alleged that two top-level Secret Service agents drunkenly drove their vehicle into a White House barricade while D.C. police and other Secret Service agents were investigating a suspicious package at the scene.
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"This is the last in a long line of episodes somewhat similar — drinking, carousing, on and off duty — that this agency has suffered these last few years," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, (R-KY.) "It's not working right, Mr. Director."
The March 4 incident at the White House was just the latest embarrassment for the Secret Service, which has been under the spotlight for a number of recent security lapses — most notably: a knife-wielding man, who climbed over the White House fence, evaded agents and made it all the way into the East Room before being intercepted. Before that, the agency was engulfed in scandal after agents allegedly hired prostitutes while on a presidential trip to Colombia.
Clancy took over after the previous director, Julia Pierson, resigned amid the security lapses and scandal. He was appointed to reform the agency—a task at which, lawmakers made clear, they believe he is failing.
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Clancy told the committee that the details of the incident from earlier this month are still being verified, and the agents may not have crashed into a barricade as reported. An anonymous source told The Huffington Post that the earlier reports were greatly exaggerated and that the agents were driving 1 to 2 miles per hour and intentionally bumped the barricade to move it out of the way.
Clancy also told lawmakers that he was waiting until the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General concludes an investigation to decide whether the agents involved should be fired. It’s unclear when the IG will finish its investigation and publically release its findings.
The committee members criticized Clancy, who did not learn about the incident until days after it occurred, for not conducting an internal investigation and taking swifter action. "I don't care about the Office of the Inspector General," Rogers said. "You're in charge."
Likewise, Rep. Nita Lowey, (D-NY) suggested the agents should have been fired. "We're not talking about someone drinking at a party. We're talking about a respected member of the Secret Service, who was absolutely drunk.”
The Secret Service director acknowledged deep-rooted cultural problems at the agency — and said they could take years to fix. To skeptical lawmakers, he said he first needed to earn his workers’ trust.
“Dude, you don't have to earn their trust. You're their boss. They're supposed to earn your trust," Rep. Chris Stewart, (R-UT), quipped.
The director noted, though, that it’s not that simple to fire federal workers. It’s actually a lengthy process. A recent Government Accountability Office report said it takes between 170 to 370 days on average to let go of a government employee. The same report found that because it’s so difficult to fire government workers, most agencies don’t even bother trying and keep them on the job instead.
Related: It’s Nearly Impossible to Fire Bad Federal Workers
In the meantime, Rogers told Clancy that his agency’s budget for the following year will hang on whether the Secret Service gets its act together.
"We're going to provide the adequate funding for your agency, but it's going to be on a short string," he said. "We expect results."
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