Secret Service Director Julia Pierson testifies to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the White House perimeter breach during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building Sept. 30, 2014, in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
With the Secret Service under intense scrutiny as more and more incidents of lapses in security around President Barack Obama come to light, Director Julia Pierson has decided to step down, NPR reports.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson confirmed Pierson’s resignation, which he accepted. “I salute her 30 years of distinguished service to the Secret Service and the Nation," Johnson said in a statement, according to NPR. The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
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Pierson reportedly handed in her resignation because “she believed it was in the best interest of the agency,” according to White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
The new acting director will be Joseph Clancy, former head of the Presidential Protective Division of the Secret Service, who will leave private work to take up the mantle.
The president has reportedly already been in contact with Pierson and thanked her for her work but “concluded new leadership of that agency was required,” Earnest told reporters at a regular press conference.
