Homeland Security Chair requests review of Secret Service

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Monday demanded a review from the Secret Service on its White House security procedures.

The Secret Service has come under scrutiny after a man named Omar Gonazalez, who was carrying a knife, jumped the White House fence and made it all the way into the front doors of the North Portico on Sept. 19. Reports later emerged that police had found several assault rifles and a map of Washington, D.C. with a mark around the White House in Gonzalez’s car when they arrested him in July for reckless driving. 

{mosads}In a letter to Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, McCaul expressed concern that the agency was not properly communicating about potential threats to the president and his family.

“My colleagues on the Committee on Homeland Security and I remain concerned about this security breach,” McCaul wrote. “We are also concerned about what could be perceived as a lack of communication between state officials and the U.S. Secret Service concerning potential threats to the president.”

McCaul requested the Secret Service provide answers to a list of questions by Oct. 10, including details on the process for receiving information from local law enforcement about threats to the First Family and the policies for use of deadly force at the White House complex.

Lastly, McCaul asked, “What can the Congress do to enhance and strengthen the protective mission of the Secret Service?”

The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday about the Secret Service’s response to the Sept. 19 incident.