The US Secret Service has long been regarded as the world’s premier protective security agency, renowned for its rigorous training and unparalleled capabilities. However, the near-assassination of former President Donald Trump has shattered this reputation, plunging the agency into its greatest crisis since the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Protection is a daunting task, requiring Secret Service officers and agents to anticipate a vast range of potential 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 also consider the possibility of air, drone, mortar, missile, and chemical weapons attacks, and ensure that every potential point of access to the protected individual is shielded.
While some criticism of the Secret Service since the incident is unfair, particularly in regards to female agents and Trump’s protective detail, other criticisms are legitimate and imperative. Key questions remain unanswered, including how would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to evade the Secret Service despite being seen acting suspiciously outside the building from which he later fired at Trump. Why were police or Secret Service officers not assigned to prevent access to the roof? And why was communication between personnel around the rally and the Secret Service command post so poor?
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s decision to avoid answering these questions has only compounded the agency’s crisis. She was present at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and should have made herself available to answer the public’s concerns. Instead, she claimed that doing so would ruin the party for RNC guests, and refused to answer questions from Senators Marsha Blackburn, John Barrasso, and James Lankford.
Cheatle is set to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday, but her failure to provide a full press conference or answer questions from Congress members has only heightened concerns about the agency’s transparency and accountability. 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 key questions require immediate asking and answering. First, how did Crooks get to the roof without being noticed? Second, what went wrong with Secret Service command post and other communications? Third, to how many protectees is the Secret Service currently assigned? Fourth, how has Cheatle’s prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion affected the Secret Service’s recruitment and workforce? And fifth, what steps are being taken to ensure an incident of last Saturday’s kind does not reoccur?
