Secret Service Chief Informed of Agent Mishap 5 Days Later

Rep. Elijah Cummings says his investigation of a Secret Service mishap at the White House, in which two possibly intoxicated agents drove into a security barrier, has determined that director Joseph Clancy wasn't informed until five days after the incident, Politico reports.

Cummings, who serves as the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, told reporters that Clancy said he only learned about the March 4 episode five days after the late-night crash, Politico said.

The Maryland lawmaker will receive a classified briefing from Clancy on Wednesday. But he said Monday he is concerned about the agency, which has been criticized for low morale in the past, including an outcry after a 2012 prostitution scandal, Politico noted.

The latest incident at the White House has renewed calls for a management overhaul, even as President Barack Obama expressed his full support of the new director, who had served on his personal security team.

Cummings noted his concern for Obama's safety.

"I said to the director, you have to deal with that. … You can change the folks at the top but if you still have the folks at the top … you have to deal with it," Cummings told Politico.

Clancy appeared on Tuesday at a hearing on Capitol Hill, looking nervous as lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee demanded answers about his agency's ongoing problems, CNN said.

"It's going to take time to change some of this culture," Clancy said as he defended his reform strategy. "There's no excuse for this information not to come up the chain. That's going to take time because I'm going to have to build trust with our workforce."

While Clancy said he was awaiting results of a Department of Homeland Security investigation into the incident, lawmakers chided him for what they viewed as a slow response, CNN said.

"I am disappointed you have not waged your own vigorous, tough investigation" into the incident, said Rep. Hal Rogers, who chairs the committee. "To say you're not investigating because you want the inspector general to investigate is hogwash."

Clancy, according to CBS News, said that he was "frustrated" by how information about the incident was passed along to him.

He told the lawmakers at the hearing that there was "no excuse" that he didn't learn about it more quickly, CBS said.

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