The Secret Service has not “developed” the skills and training of its employees, a senior official of the House special committee assembled to investigate President-elect Trump's assassination attempt said.
“The structure, personnel and staffing of the Secret Service has remained the same for years, but at the same time we're asking them to do things they didn't do 10 years ago,” said Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo. ) told CBS News' Margaret Brennan In an interview called Sunday's broadcast also featured Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania), the chairman of the task force.
“And they're actually running an operational tempo that requires them to be deployed three weeks out of the month, constantly having events, skipping firearms training, skipping leadership development training,” he said. added. “We're not developing their skills and training, and I think you'll see the results.”
On Thursday, Mr. Kelly and Mr. Crow's task force held its final meeting, during which the acting Secret Service chief was grilled and a vote to soon release a final report.
With President Trump facing an assassination attempt during his 2024 presidential campaign, the Secret Service has come under intense scrutiny for its handling of the situation. The current acting Secret Service chief, Ronald Lowe, took the job after his predecessor resigned after lawmakers criticized a lack of transparency.
“When we talk about mission failures, whether in Butler or elsewhere, that doesn't mean that 80, 90 percent of Secret Service agents aren't amazing, dedicated professionals,” Crowe told Brennan. told. “But there is a systemic problem here.”
Kelly said in an interview on “Face the Nation” that the Secret Service, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), “took away their identity and monopoly.”
“They don't have the leadership they need…When they turned them into the Department of Homeland Security in 2001…each time they took away their identity and exclusivity,” Kelly said.
The Secret Service, formerly part of the Treasury Department, became part of DHS in 2003.
The Hill has reached out to DHS and the Secret Service for comment.
