Rep. Jason Chaffetz thinks the U.S. Secret Service needs to figure out why people are able to jump the fence onto the White House grounds and how one intruder was recently able to wander around for almost 20 minutes.
Chaffetz said on Fox News Monday that the Secret Service has a lot of self-examination to do after another fence jumper got onto the White House grounds over the weekend.
That news came on the heels of a bad week for the Secret Service. Two agents are under investigation for taking selfies with President Trump’s sleeping grandson, another agent had a laptop with sensitive information stolen from her vehicle, and reports that surfaced that a fence jumper from two weeks ago made it all the way to the White House’s backdoor before being arrested.
“I don’t know why it keeps happening,” said Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. “You’re going to see some big changes. We’re also looking at some major structural changes.”
Chaffetz’s committee is investigating the Secret Service’s problems, and he said Congress could react by voting to move the agency out of the Department of Homeland Security and into the Department of Treasury.
The agency is also about 1,000 agents short of where it should be due to recruiting and retaining issues, Chaffetz said.
However, Chaffetz said he is encouraged by Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly’s personal interest in improving the Secret Service. Kelly reportedly walked the White House grounds to familiarize himself with the security system, Chaffetz said.
“I just don’t see the leadership in [the Secret Service],” he said. “I’ve got great optimism about Secretary Kelly though.”
