The recent apparent attempt to assassinate President Trump has underscored the stress on the Secret Service

Two months after Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, an assailant remained undetected for nearly 12 hours on the outskirts of the golf course where Trump played on Sunday, utilizing the protection of an agency that is being stretched to its limits.

According to government records, the U.S. Secret Service is currently employing approximately 400 fewer personnel than Congress has authorized as the 2024 presidential election approaches its conclusion.

It is unlikely that the issue will be resolved prior to the Nov. 5 election, as the agency typically requires over 200 days to fill vacant positions.

The Secret Service has been compelled to broaden its protective coverage to a broader range of officials since Vice President Kamala Harris assumed the role of the Democratic presidential candidate in a close contest against the Republican Donald Trump in July, after President Joe Biden ended his re-election bid.

Interviews with three former Secret Service agents and the former director of the department that supervises the agency have revealed that this has resulted in unprecedented strains on the organization.

Kenneth Valentine, a former agent, stated in a telephone interview that the pressure, expectations, and tempo have never been more severe than they are at this time.

Agents were unable to conduct the routine site survey that could have enabled them to locate the alleged gunman before Trump arrived within a few hundred yards of the man’s location, where he had been holed up for hours with food near the fifth hole of the Trump International golf course, due to his desire to golf privately at one of his Florida clubs on Sunday.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, who assumed his position in July following the resignation of the agency’s previous leader after Trump narrowly escaped the initial assassination attempt, reported that his agents are already operating under significant stress.

“We are redlining them,” Rowe stated during a news conference on Monday.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress have indicated that they may approve additional funding in the upcoming weeks. However, this will not address the personnel deficit that necessitates agents to work extended hours in high-pressure situations in the short term.

On July 13, a gunman fired six bullets from atop a building at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, causing the death of a rallygoer and grazing the Republican candidate’s ear. This incident underscored the potential for failure.

The Secret Service agents promptly led Trump to safety and fatally shot the gunman; however, agency officials acknowledge that the gunman should never have been able to discharge shots in the first place.

AGENCY ‘ASHAMED’

I am “ashamed” of the security lapses that occurred in the incident, Rowe informed legislators on July 30.

The presumed assailant was observed by a Secret Service agent at the Florida golf course on Sunday, and the agent observed the muzzle of his AK-47-style rifle. Before he could discharge a shot or have a direct line of sight to Trump, the agent opened fire, causing him to flee.

Ryan Routh, the suspect, was apprehended shortly thereafter.

Nevertheless, security specialists continue to inquire as to why the agency did not locate him sooner.

“How was Routh not identified by an advance team?” Did the (Secret Service) employ a drone to survey the golf course? Dogs? If not, what is the reason? Lora Ries, who served as the head of the Secret Service at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration, stated as much.

Rowe informed reporters that the public was not informed of Trump’s Sunday golf excursion. This implied that the agency did not conduct a comprehensive security investigation in advance, which could have indicated his impending arrival.

Former agents assert that Trump’s preference for playing golf on his private courses, which are accessible to members, poses more significant security risks than those faced by previous presidents such as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, who typically played on military courses that were capable of being closed to the public.

Trump declared on Monday that he desires an increase in the number of agents assigned to his protection. He is granted fewer agents and resources than an incumbent president due to his status as a candidate and former president.

SHORTFALL OF STAFFING

The most recent figures available indicate that the Secret Service employed 7,879 individuals as of February.

This is in contrast to the strategy that James Murray, the previous agency director, presented to Congress in 2022. Murray stated that his objective was to increase the number of staff members to 8,305 within a year and to 10,000 by 2027.

The Secret Service is unable to promptly staff up, despite the fact that Congress increased the agency’s budget by 9% this year to accommodate the 2024 election. In July, Rowe informed Congress that only 2% of applicants are employed due to the job’s demanding nature.

He also stated that the agency has encountered difficulty in recent years in retaining agents who have been attracted to more lucrative private-sector work.

The scarcity of agents makes it more challenging for them to remain employed, as they are compelled to move quickly from one assignment to another.

In an interview, former agent Bill Gage stated, “The Secret Service lacks the resources and the bodies.”