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Secret Service Head to Tell Lawmakers Agency Has 'Fallen Short'

He's also expected to say he’s conducting “a comprehensive, bottom-to-top assessment” of failures
Secret Service Agent Joseph Clancy, right, holds the door open for President Barack Obama upon arrival at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on July 10, 2009.
Secret Service Agent Joseph Clancy, right, holds the door open for President Barack Obama upon arrival at the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on July 10, 2009. Gregorio Borgia / AP, file

The acting director of the United States Secret Service is expected to tell members of Congress Wednesday that he’s conducting “a comprehensive, bottom-to-top assessment” of failures within the service, including the September 19 breach of the White House by a fence-jumper.

In prepared testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, USSS acting director Joseph Clancy says that the service has “fallen short” of its goals and calls the series of security failures surrounding the September incident “simply inexcusable.”

“While agents and officers of the Secret Service conduct some of the best law enforcement work in the world, events in recent years suggest that while we strive for perfection, we have, on limited occasions, fallen short of that goal,” he is expected to say.

Following the public hearing, Clancy will hold a classified hearing with members.

This will be the first USSS hearing held on Capitol Hill since a damning DHS Secret Service report summary was released late Thursday.

- Carrie Dann contributed