Julia Pierson stepped down yesterday a day after enduring a withering public grilling by lawmakers, who pronounced themselves baffled at failures by Secret Service agents, another of which saw an armed former felon get on an elevator with President Barack Obama.
Pierson had been brought into the agency as a new broom after the reputation of its sharp-suited agents took a hit from drinking and prostitution scandals.
Bowing to rising political pressure, Pierson offered her resignation and it was accepted by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.
Johnson appointed Joseph Clancy -- who formerly headed the presidential protection branch of the Secret Service as an interim replacement.
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An independent panel will be named to probe a September 19 incident, which saw knife-carrying homeless US army veteran Omar Gonzalez allegedly jump the White House fence and run into the residence.
In another incident last month, an armed security contractor with a criminal record was allowed into an elevator with Obama when he visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.
In another eye-opening development, Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said yesterday the presidency had only been made aware of the full circumstances of the Atlanta incident shortly before it appeared in a report on Tuesday.
Pierson's sullen performance before angry lawmakers on Tuesday did little to shield her agency.
"This is unacceptable and I take full responsibility. And I will make sure that it does not happen again."
Following the hearing, Pierson was besieged by calls for her departure by angry lawmakers, even as the White House said it still had confidence in her.