Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said that the outgoing director of the Secret Service is not the only person who needs to resign at the agency.
“I want some heads to roll,” Cummings, the ranking member of the Oversight Committee, said Wednesday night on MSNBC.
{mosads}”There are probably some other folks who need to take the exit ramp out, too,” he said. “And I’m hoping that Secretary Johnson of Homeland Security will take a very close look at this agency and make sure that folks who don’t need to be there are let go.”
Director Julia Pierson announced her resignation on Wednesday in the wake of a series of scandals, from a fence jumper making inside the White House to an armed felon getting on an elevator with President Obama.
“A culture has developed in the Secret Service whereby Secret Service agents feel more comfortable coming before a member of Congress and talking about the problems in the Secret Service [than before agency superiors],” he said.
Cummings expressed confidence in interim director Joe Clancy, who is a former head of Obama’s detail. Cummings pointed to Obama’s confidence in Clancy.
“He feels very, very comfortable with him, and he thinks he’s an outstanding professional,” Cummings said. “He also knows that he’s well respected by the other members of the Secret Service. And so, I feel as the president feels that strongly about him. I feel good about it.”