The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) has faced intense scrutiny following the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump, with the shooting raising questions about the agency’s culture and staffing.
Current and former USSS employees have expressed concern that the service is plagued by staffing shortages despite a $3 billion budget increase. USSS leaders are coming under scrutiny not only over the July 13 fiasco in Butler, Pennsylvania, but also over their ability to maintain team morale and recruit and retain top talent.
“As I move on to the next stage of my career, I must somehow hide the team I was once proud to be a part of,” a USSS counter-sniper reportedly wrote in an internal email last week, excerpts of which were read aloud by Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee during a congressional hearing on the assassination attempt. “Who wants to hire the USSS? [counter sniper] Who failed? That’s the public perception I’m facing now.”
Countersniper said the agency’s motto is “CYA,” or “cover your ass,” and that “all of the supervisors are doing just that right now.”
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Former President Trump is surrounded by Secret Service agents after a shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“The USSS CS team is a stain I will never be able to wipe away,” Countersniper wrote in an email obtained by Real Clear Politics reporter Susan Crabtree. “We failed, not because of any sense of responsibility or dedication, but because our superiors knew better and did not take our concerns seriously.”
“The public has lost confidence in your ability to carry out your protective mission, and I want to know what you think about the fact that your agency’s personnel are so focused on cleaning up their own messes that they’re not focused on protecting a former president,” Blackburn told Acting USSS Administrator Ronald Rowe Jr. during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last Tuesday.
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Rowe Jr. said he was “hurt” by the employee’s words.
“I’m hurting because my people are suffering right now,” he said. “We need them.”
Rowe, whose service also came under fire last week for allegations of retaliation, said “emotions are raw” within the USSS right now and that he “wants to hear more” from the counter-sniper who wrote the email. He described himself as a Marine and 20-year veteran of the USSS. Rowe added that he would review the situation and commit to being an “agent of change.”
Secret Service in numbers
The total number of USSS employees increased to 7,811 in 2021 but declined the past two years to 7,689 in 2023. Figures from the Congressional Research Service.
That includes about 3,200 investigators, 1,300 uniformed officers and more than 2,000 support personnel, according to the agency’s website.
“Quality of life,” Charles Marino, a Secret Service agent for 18 years, told Fox News Digital about why agents are leaving the USSS.
Lowe last week hinted at the difficult life agents face.
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Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on July 30, 2024, about the security failures that led to the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump at the U.S. Capitol. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“One of the most challenging aspects of this role is the extensive travel that our staff requires throughout the year,” he said. “This is especially true during a presidential election year, when our care recipients are traveling across the country, often conducting multiple care visits in a single day.”
According to the USSS website, recruits accepted into the USSS are required to sign a mobility agreement indicating their willingness to accept assignment anywhere in the U.S. and overseas, but Marino told Fox News Digital, “Of course. [your] My family will be moving in with me.”
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What does it take to become a Secret Service agent?
Although military veterans are preferred, USSS agent candidates are not required to have experience in law enforcement: During his 18 years with the agency, recruits were required to have a college degree and five years of work experience, Marino said.
But it is now possible for people to begin USSS training immediately after graduating from college, according to the service’s website, which has a “zero failure mission.”
Applicants must be at least 21 years old at the time of application and no older than 37 years old at the time they receive their job offer. Recruits with military experience are eligible to apply up to age 40.
“What you’re looking for is a clean record and the ability to pass a polygraph test,” Marino, who provided security for Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, said of what he looks for in recruiters. “You want someone who played college sports, who’s athletic, who’s big, who’s flexible, who can think. You want the full mix.”
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Former President Trump is surrounded by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Candidates must pass vision and hearing screenings. Uncorrected vision must be 20/100 or worse, corrected vision must be 20/20 or better, and hearing loss must not exceed 25 decibels.
Deployers are not permitted to have any visible tattoos, except for a discreet wedding ring on one finger, and successful applicants must have their tattoos medically removed before beginning their deployment, according to the Deployer.
In addition to background checks, driving record checks and drug tests, agent candidates must pass a medical exam and a polygraph test.
Authorities say the background checks are extensive and can take six to nine months, including interviews with friends, neighbors and family members.
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Former President Trump was trapped in his car after a shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
According to the agency’s website, annual agent salaries start at $49,508. Candidates with a relevant master’s degree, doctorate, or relevant field experience may be considered for higher levels and salaries.
Before starting their training, agents must pass the Special Agent Recruitment Exam, which includes sections on logical reasoning, grammar and detailed photographic observation. Agents must also be interviewed by the Bureau’s hiring committee.
Agents recruited by the USSS undergo about eight months of training before their first assignment, according to Marino and the USSS.
First, they complete a criminal investigator training program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Flinco, Ga. After that, agents spend approximately 18 weeks at the U.S. Secret Service James J. Lowry Training Center in Laurel, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC.
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Members of the Secret Service stand near the presidential limousine as President Biden disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in Morrisville, North Carolina, on January 18, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
After completing extensive training, agents will first be assigned to field offices, Marino said.
“You get posted to a field office, you do a period of on-site training, then you get posted to the field office where you work on lower-level senior government and financial crimes investigations,” he said. “When I was there, you would spend five or six years in your first field office before you were posted to the Guard or ex-Guard. I think that period has now been shortened significantly.”
A uniformed Secret Service officer carries a child who had crawled through the White House fence on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Nancy Benac)
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Marino said agents who protect high-ranking protected individuals, such as former presidents, are required to undergo a two-week refresher training session every six weeks.
“This is where resources become an issue,” Marino said. “These kids aren’t getting the opportunity to get the training they need, and especially during election season, there are so few resources and it’s just not going to happen.”
