Trump appoints Randolph Alles as new Secret Service director
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President Trump announced Tuesday the acting deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Randolph Alles, would be the new director of the U.S. Secret Service.
Alles previously led the CBP's Air and Marine operations, and spent 35 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Alles is replacing Joseph Clancy, who retired from the agency a second time in March. He inherits an agency that has been dealing with a series of security and personnel issues. Last month, a man jumped the White House fence and spent 15 minutes roaming the grounds.
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"I applaud Secretary Kelly's decision to appoint a Secret Service Director from outside the agency," House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said in a statement.
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"This decision is consistent with what this Committee and the Protective Mission Panel recommended years ago. While I commend this important step forward, there are still many systemic problems that continue to plague the agency, including a staffing crisis and increasingly demanding investigative mission," Chaffetz continued.
The agency's problems came to light with a prostitution scandal during a South American summit during the Obama administration. A group of former senior government officials that reviewed the Secret Service in 2014 found that it was an "insular agency" in need of an outsider to lead it.
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The recommendation came after Julia Pierson was forced to resign as director after multiple presidential security breaches were made public. Obama opted instead to bring back Clancy, who had previously retired.
Alles' appointment fulfills that recommendation and continues President Donald Trump's reliance on retired generals for top government posts. Alles will report to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, also a retired Marine general.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.