WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Secret Service established a Chief Operating Officer position in order to promote operational excellence and rebuild public trust, US Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said in a statement.
“[Secret Service] Director Clancy and I announce the creation of a new US Secret Service Chief Operating Officer (COO) position,” Johnson said on Friday. “This position… will be filled in the near future, and we intend to embark on a wide search for the right person for the job.”
An independent panel that submitted an assessment of Secret Service operations to Johnson in December, recommended that such a position be created.
Johnson also announced in the statement the appointment of Craig Magaw to the position Deputy Director of the Secret Service, who previously served as the agency’s Assistant Director of the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information.
“As recent events have clearly shown, there is more to be done to promote operational excellence and public trust in the Secret Service,” Johnson said.
The Secret Service has recently come under scrutiny after a string of high-profile security lapses, which included allowing a person with a weapon and criminal history board an elevator with US President Barack Obama, and a man jumping a White House fence and reaching its East Room.
The blunders led to former Secret Service director Julia Pierson's resignation in October 2014 and several agency executives’ dismissal in January 2015.
