"The President absolutely believes that Director Clancy is the right person for this job,” Earnest said. “[T]his very difficult work and going in a reforming an agency like this will be challenging."
Earlier on Tuesday, members of the US Congress questioned Clancy during a Secret Service budget request hearing why he learned about two special agents driving into a White House complex allegedly under the influence of alcohol five days after the incident.
Clancy said he was “very frustrated” about the delay in finding out about the incident, but changing the recent culture of misconduct would “take time.”
Concerns over White House security began to escalate after an intruder jumped a fence in September and managed to get to the East Room of the White House before being stopped.
A review of the incident found multiple protocol failures that led to then-Secret Service Director Julia Pierson's resignation, followed by US President Barack Obama appointing Clancy as the agency’s new Director in February.
