Hillary Clinton’s nomination to serve as secretary of State creates an unique jurisdictional battle between the U.S. Secret Service, which protects current and former presidents and first ladies, and the the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which protects the secretary of state, visiting foreign dignitaries and all American diplomatic missions abroad.
The two law enforcement agencies may strike a compromise, allowing Diplomatic Security to protect the former first lady during the day while she’s working at the State Department or traveling abroad and the Secret Service to keep watch when she’s at home in Northwest D.C. or in Chappaqua, N.Y.
Such a compromise likely would be in Clinton’s best interest, from practical managerial purposes.
“If you come into a new department to be the executive and you don’t choose your own employees to protect you, how do you think that makes them feel?” said one State Department official granted anonymity to speak frankly on the matter, who added that Clinton’s unique predicament has been a topic of conversations around Foggy Bottom.
The Federal Eye doesn’t purport to be a security expert, and can’t tell Mrs. Clinton which agency would best serve her security needs, but we thought it might be helpful to provide a side-by-side comparison of the two storied agencies:
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