White House didn’t get heads-up on Secret Service purge

President Obama was not told in advance of the Secret Service’s move Wednesday to remove four top officials in the wake of a series of high-profile security breaches.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the decision was made by acting Secret Service Director Joe Clancy without consulting the West Wing but that Obama was “certainly very supportive of” the efforts to reform the agency.

{mosads}The Secret Service announced Thursday that four assistant directors — Dale Pupillo, who heads protective services; Paul Morrissey, who supervises investigations; Mark Copanzzi, who is in charge of the agency’s technology; and public affairs chief Jane Murphy — would be removed from their posts and reassigned elsewhere within the Department of Homeland Security.

“The White House was certainly well-aware of the efforts that the director was undertaking to implement some management leadership reforms at the agency,” Earnest said. “The reforms that he announced are consistent with the findings of the independent blue-ribbon panel that took a look at the [Department of Homeland Security] review of the Secret Service.”

That Homeland Security review concluded that the agency was “starved for leadership” and severely undermanned. It also proposed a series of security improvements at the White House compound.

The Secret Service came under scrutiny after a series of security failures, including most memorably an incident in which a man carrying a knife was able to scale the northern fence and run into the main floor of the executive mansion.

“Based on the Independent Panel review, and my own assessments, I will be implementing leadership changes in the Secret Service management team,” Clancy said in a statement Wednesday. “Change is necessary to gain a fresh perspective on how we conduct business. I am certain any of our senior executives will be productive and valued assets either in other positions at the Secret Service or the department.”