The Ever-Evolving Story of the White House Fence Jumper

First we were
told that a man jumped the White House fence and ran across the
lawn. Then came
word that the intruder had in fact gotten through the White
House doors. Yesterday we
found out that he made it surprisingly far into the building,
passing the stairs to the first family’s living quarters and
barreling into the East Room. At this point I half expect to learn
tomorrow that the guy actually killed the president.

At any rate, The New York Post
reports that the Secret Service has taken steps to prevent
future invasions of this nature:

There are already new White House security measures
under way, according to presidential press secretary Josh Earnest.
He listed them as beefed-up foot patrols, additional surveillance
and increased training.

Additionally, the Secret Service has “changed the procedures for
ensuring that the entrance to the White House is secure,” Earnest
said—eventually explaining that meant the front door would be
locked.

“After Friday night’s incident, when the door is not in use, that
will be secure,” he explained.

Glad they worked that one out. I suspect there will be further
changes too—though just as the one post-9/11 security measure that
clearly made sense was the decision to reinforce cockpit doors, I
won’t be surprised if locking the White House is the one change to
come out of this that actually makes people more secure. At any
rate, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is
holding a hearing on the subject right now; you can watch
it here.