The head of the United States Secret Service is expected to face criticism and questions from lawmakers on Tuesday about the latest White House security breach and a string of scandals that have tarnished the image of the agency charged with protecting the president, according to The Associated Press.

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson is expected to explain how she plans to change the agency's culture and procedures, the AP reported.

The hearing was prompted by a September 19 incident in which a man carrying a knife scaled the White House fence, raced past security officers and made it inside the executive mansion's north entrance, according to the AP.

Pierson asked the committee to hold part of the hearing in a classified setting, behind closed doors because divulging too much about security procedures at the White House would "arm" would-be attackers with critical information, the AP reported.

The Washington Post reported on Monday that Omar Gonzalez, a 42-year-old Iraq war veteran, overpowered a guard at the front entrance and made it much deeper into the building than previously known before he was subdued, the AP reported.

Other events which may be under question are: a lone gunman firing shots at the White House in 2011, a prostitution scandal involving agents in Colombia in 2012 and a night of drinking in March that led to three agents being sent home from a presidential trip to Amsterdam, according to the AP.

President Obama appointed Pierson, 55, a 30-year Secret Service veteran, in March 2013, the AP reported.

The first female director in the agency's 148-history, she was given the mission of cleaning up the agency's culture after the 2012 trip to Colombia in which up to a dozen agents were found to have hired prostitutes, according to the AP.