President Obama made his first comments Monday about last week's White House fence jump and break-in.

Responding informally to shouted questions following a public ceremony at the White House while he signed a declaration promoting service for children in need, the president said the Secret Service does a great job, adding, "I''m grateful for their sacrifice as they protect me and my children."

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Those comments were made in the afterglow of Friday's troubling security breach. Mere minutes after the president and his daughters left the building for a Camp David retreat, a man later identified as Army veteran Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, scaled a security fence and got through the front door carrying a knife.

Before the president's comments Monday about the North Portico entrance break-in, Josh Earnest, presidential spokesman, told reporters at his regular White House briefing the president had complete confidence in the Secret Service.

It was revealed later Gonzalez, of Copperas Cove, Texas, also had 800 rounds of ammunition, two hatchets, a machete and another knife in his vehicle.

Gonzalez was charged on suspicion of entering a restricted building unlawfully while carrying a dangerous or deadly weapon. It was revealed he was an Army veteran who served from 1997 to 2003 and 2005 to 2012, including tours in Iraq. He retired due to disability, the Army said.

The incident, and a second incident Saturday when a man later identified as Kevin Carr, 19, of Shamong, N.J., tried to enter the White House grounds illegally then refused to leave his vehicle at a White House gate checkpoint, prompted calls for investigations into Secret Service conduct and security measures.

The agency already has been under increased scrutiny due to several security breaches in the past few years, including one case of soliciting prostitutes while guarding the president in Latin America.

In the wake of Friday's security breach, Julia Pierson, Secret Service director, said she had ordered stepped-up White house surveillance and officer patrols while officials investigated what went wrong in Friday's incident.

TagsPresident Obama, White House Break-in, Secret Service, julia pierson, Omar Gonzalez