Four senior officials at the U.S. Secret Service were forced out of their positions this week and two more are retiring in a management shake-up at the beleaguered agency that lost its director just months ago.
The Secret Service has struggled to recover from security lapses and criticism of a "culture of distrust between agency leaders and its
rank-and-file," according to The Washington Post.
The departures of four assistant directors from their positions overseeing protection, investigations, technology, and public affairs was at least partially in response to a Department of Homeland Security report issued recently, The Post said. In that report, it was determined the agency is "starved for leadership" and needs immediate changes.
The four who were asked to vacate their positions — Dale Pupillo, Paul Morrissey, Jane Murphy, and Mark Copanzzi — were given the option of resigning, retiring, or reporting for a new assignment, sources told The Post.
Such a shake-up at the Secret Service is indicative of the extent of the problems within the agency, Jeff Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History and a
Secret Service expert, told USA Today.
"If you go through an organization, find flaws and identify the culprit, then you deal with the culprit. When you take out the heads of four major components of the agency, you’re throwing out everything. You’re throwing out the baby and the bathwater," Engel told USA Today. "What this tells us is the cancer has metastasized. There’s something they’ve identified which is bred throughout the [Secret Service] that requires not only a shock to one area but to the entire organization."
The Secret Service has been criticized for months for various security lapses — particularly after a mentally ill man jumped the White House gates — and its culture, USA Today said.
"Change is necessary to gain a fresh perspective on how we conduct business," acting director Joseph Clancy said in a statement to The Post. "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."
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