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The U.S. Secret Service used to be considered an elite agency. However, the recent scandals show just how it has become a dysfunctional, bureaucratic hot mess that hampers its ability to carry out its main mission of protecting the President of the United States.
Janet Napolitano and Frances Fragos Townsend were part of an Independent Review Panel that looked into the Secret Service's mishaps in Butler, Pa., last July, along with other issues affecting their work.
"The Secret Service has become bureaucratic, complacent, and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved," the panel wrote to DHS Secretary Mayorkas in October. The investigation "uncovered not only numerous mistakes that led to the events of July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, but also deeper, systemic issues that must be addressed with urgency."
Reading through the report, I was surprised by how many suggestions there were for better security. I couldn't help but wonder why these obvious improvements needed a panel to point them out to the supposed experts in protection.
The president can lead the way in fixing these problems. The U.S. Secret Service director's role is crucial for our democracy and its leaders. Our independent panel discovered that the service has become too inward-looking, not making good use of new technology, and often sticking to old methods for protection. We need new leadership with lots of security experience.
Trump picked Sean Curran, an experienced Secret Service agent, as the new director. Curran was in charge of Trump's protection in Butler and has been with the Secret Service for 24 years.
He has a huge challenge ahead. One of the first things he could do is modernize how the Secret Service communicates.
Congress can also help right at the start of Trump's term. They can make it a requirement for the Secret Service to have better communication systems with federal, state, and local partners during protective events, including real-time management and tracking. It's ridiculous that our government's protection team has worse communication tools than many sports teams. On July 13 in Butler, the agents used a messy mix of radios, cellphones, texts, and emails. Snipers shouldn't be messing with phones when they need to watch for dangers.
The Secret Service is taking on too much. Originally known as "Treasury Agents," they were supposed to guard the U.S. money supply and protect people. Now, with new counterfeiting methods, they also look into cybercrimes like identity theft and ransomware. The panel suggests giving these extra jobs to other agencies so the Secret Service can focus solely on protection.
The panel pointed out that the Secret Service has a $3.1 billion budget and around 3,200 special agents. No matter what else they do, their main job is to protect key figures like the president, vice president, and presidential candidates. This job doesn't allow for any mistakes. All resources should go to this task before anything else, like dealing with financial crimes.
Other suggestions include better leadership, "Evaluation of Methodology for Protectee Resourcing," and "Leadership Training, and Training with State and Local Partners."
Unfortunately, not many of these suggestions are being looked at right now. Director Curran should start putting some of these practical recommendations into action as soon as possible.
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"The Secret Service has become bureaucratic, complacent, and static even though risks have multiplied and technology has evolved," the panel wrote to DHS Secretary Mayorkas in October. The investigation "uncovered not only numerous mistakes that led to the events of July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, but also deeper, systemic issues that must be addressed with urgency."
Reading through the report, I was surprised by how many suggestions there were for better security. I couldn't help but wonder why these obvious improvements needed a panel to point them out to the supposed experts in protection.
The president can lead the way in fixing these problems. The U.S. Secret Service director's role is crucial for our democracy and its leaders. Our independent panel discovered that the service has become too inward-looking, not making good use of new technology, and often sticking to old methods for protection. We need new leadership with lots of security experience.
Trump picked Sean Curran, an experienced Secret Service agent, as the new director. Curran was in charge of Trump's protection in Butler and has been with the Secret Service for 24 years.
He has a huge challenge ahead. One of the first things he could do is modernize how the Secret Service communicates.
Congress can also help right at the start of Trump's term. They can make it a requirement for the Secret Service to have better communication systems with federal, state, and local partners during protective events, including real-time management and tracking. It's ridiculous that our government's protection team has worse communication tools than many sports teams. On July 13 in Butler, the agents used a messy mix of radios, cellphones, texts, and emails. Snipers shouldn't be messing with phones when they need to watch for dangers.
The Secret Service is taking on too much. Originally known as "Treasury Agents," they were supposed to guard the U.S. money supply and protect people. Now, with new counterfeiting methods, they also look into cybercrimes like identity theft and ransomware. The panel suggests giving these extra jobs to other agencies so the Secret Service can focus solely on protection.
The panel pointed out that the Secret Service has a $3.1 billion budget and around 3,200 special agents. No matter what else they do, their main job is to protect key figures like the president, vice president, and presidential candidates. This job doesn't allow for any mistakes. All resources should go to this task before anything else, like dealing with financial crimes.
Other suggestions include better leadership, "Evaluation of Methodology for Protectee Resourcing," and "Leadership Training, and Training with State and Local Partners."
Unfortunately, not many of these suggestions are being looked at right now. Director Curran should start putting some of these practical recommendations into action as soon as possible.
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