The U.S. Secret Service was, until last Saturday, widely seen as the world's preeminent protective security agency. The intensity of training and range of capability it delivers to its protective mission remains unparalleled. But the near assassination of former president and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump shatters this reputation and is a disaster for the agency. The Secret Service is facing its greatest crisis since at least the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Protection is difficult and stressful. Secret Service officers and agents must anticipate a vast range of prospective threats. They must consider whether a political donor, campaign aide, or police officer with clearance to be near a protectee might actually be an assassin in disguise.
They must consider whether the approaching supporter with a bulky jacket has strange fashion taste for summer weather or is concealing a suicide bomb. They must guard against air, drone, mortar, missile, and chemical weapons attacks. They must shield every potential point of access to the person being protected. They must build in redundancies so that one security failure does not lead to ultimate failure.
It's also true that some of the criticism the Secret Service has faced since last Saturday's events is unfair. This is especially true of criticism directed against female Secret Service agents and the response of Trump's protective detail. But other criticisms are legitimate and imperative.
First, how was would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks able to evade the Secret Service even after officers saw him acting suspiciously just outside the building from the roof of which he later shot Trump? Why were police or Secret Service officers not assigned to prevent access to that roof? Why was communication between personnel around the rally and the Secret Service command post so bad?
Seeing as Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she should have made herself available to answer these questions.
Instead, she hid from the scrutiny. At the RNC, Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Barrasso (R-WY), and James Lankford (R-OK) tried to question Cheatle. She refused to answer, absurdly claiming that doing so would ruin the party for RNC guests. She should have answered basic questions rather than run away from them.
Cheatle seems set to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday, but she has missed a big opportunity to repair damage, and has indeed compounded it. She was at the RNC to oversee convention security measures and show how seriously she considers last Saturday's incident. Why couldn't she spare an hour for a full press conference so the public could learn the facts about an incident on which it has a substantial right to know? There would have been questions Cheatle could not answer, but stating that candidly is better than evasion and deflection. And she surely could have taken questions from Congress members. As a former career Secret Service agent, Cheatle surely knows that a perception of credible security is nearly as important as the practice of it.
Congress now moves to conduct critical oversight, and five questions require immediate asking and answering.
First, how did Crooks get to the roof without being noticed? Why were early reports of his suspicious behavior, including his observed possession of a telescopic sight, not followed up as highly concerning? Even though no rifle was seen, the telescopic sight should have produced an assumption that he might be a sniper.
Second, what went wrong with Secret Service command post and other communications? Why, when witnesses pointed out to police officers that Crooks was climbing a ladder with a rifle was Trump's Secret Service detail not immediately notified?
Third, to how many protectees is the Secret Service currently assigned? This matters because the number of full-time protectees has grown in recent years, worsening strains on resources. This has led to a morale crisis and workforce attrition. That has further worsened the Secret Service's protective supply-demand equation. Congressional action may be required to reduce the president's role in deciding who should be entitled to 24/7 protection. Secret Service protection should be provided based on threat assessment, not the desire for a chauffeur service of earpiece-wearing agents.
Fourth, how has Cheatle's heavy prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion affected the Secret Service's recruitment and workforce? Congress should demand access to application and hiring records to see if staff were hired because they checked DEI boxes. Considering the Biden administration’s fetish for DEI and the importance of the Secret Service's mission, it demands attention.
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Fifth, what steps are being taken to ensure an incident of last Saturday's kind does not reoccur?
A former and likely future American president was very nearly assassinated by a lone gunman who was seen exhibiting suspicious behavior long before he fired his first shot. Questions must be asked and answers must be forthcoming — now.
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