The decision to change venues for a Donald Trump rally on Saturday shows that a major cash infusion for the Secret Service (USSS) will not solve the deeper problems and limitations the agency must address, former agents told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Trump campaign was forced to move an outdoor event for thousands of people into the comparatively smaller Prairie du Chien Area Arts Center in Wisconsin Saturday after USSS said it did not have enough resources to ensure the former president’s safety. While long-term problems stemming from a wave of retirements, recruiting struggles and internal nepotism will need to be addressed after the election, former agents said the USSS needs to shift its priorities in the short-term to ensure it can keep Trump safe without compromising his outreach to voters.
“This is going to be a very difficult season until we get to election day,” former USSS agent Tim Miller told the DCNF. “The Secret Service, unfortunately, is playing catch-up due to their lack of ability to protect him properly in the past.”
Congress approved $231 million of additional funding for the USSS in the stopgap government funding bill it passed Sept. 25 after the agency attracted enormous scrutiny following two attempts on Trump’s life, one a very near miss in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the other in West Palm Beach, Florida. Only about 20% of the Secret Service’s cumulative budget since 2014 has been spent on protective operations, the Daily Caller reported on Wednesday. […]
— Read More: dailycallernewsfoundation.org
