(NewsNation) — A report conducted in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally last year found that the Secret Service countersniper team is grossly understaffed, falling 73% below the agents it requires.
The report is the first of five reviewing the assassination attempt on Trump while he was a candidate in the 2024 election.
The Secret Service does not have an “effective process to hire countersnipers to meet its operational needs,” the report by the Homeland Security Department inspector general found.
The report stated that the demand for protection has increased by 151% from 2020 to 2024, and the agency has had to rely on “DHS components” to cover the shortfalls during the 2024 campaign season and 2025 presidential inauguration.
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During that same time, countersnipers worked a total of 247,887 hours in overtime, which is approximately the equivalent of an additional 24 full-time employees per year, the report states.
The total number of Secret Service snipers and the number the agency requires was redacted in the report.
“Failure to appropriately staff CS could limit the Secret Service’s ability to properly protect our Nation’s most senior leaders, risking injury or assassination, and subsequent national-level harm to the country’s sense of safety and security,” a report stated.
Some countersnipers missed mandatory requalifications
The inspector general found the Secret Service used countersnipers who missed mandatory weapons requalification sessions 47 times in 2024.
These included events attended by former President Joe Biden, including the wake for Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson in Dallas in Jan. 2024, campaign receptions in New York in February 2024 and when he delivered remarks in New Hampshire in March 2024, according to the report.
It takes a uniformed Secret Service officer about three years before they can join the countersniper team, according to the report.
Secret Service understaffing exposed by Butler assassination attempt
The report noted that the Secret Service doesn’t have an effective process to hire countersnipers.
The current approach does not allow for “timely hiring, training, and deployment of a countersniper to CS,” the report states.
The “chronic understaffing” came to light after the July 13, 2024, attack on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, while he was speaking to a large crowd on the campaign trail.
‘Preventable failures’ led to Trump assassination attempt: Report
Thomas Matthew Crooks fired at Trump from the roof of a nearby building. He was shot and killed by a Secret Service countersniper seconds after he opened fire at Trump.
The Secret Service director had said they were told about a suspicious person two to five times before the shooting but had no indication he had a weapon.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned under pressure and acknowledged her agency failed in carrying out its plan to keep the former president safe.
The countersniper team “will need to quickly hire and train substantially more countersnipers to meet growing operational demands and be prepared for the 2028 presidential election cycle and beyond,” the report said. “Failure to ensure appropriate staffing and training could result in injuries to or the assassination of our nation’s most senior leaders and affect the entire country’s sense of safety.”
