Unqualified Secret Service Snipers Protected President, Inspector General Finds

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Secret Service snipers who worked at events involving President Joe Biden in 2024 failed to complete annual requirements showing they can hit targets, an inspector general said in a report published on Aug. 28.

Countersnipers are required to prove annually that they can shoot accurately at night and during the day. While all countersnipers met nighttime requirements in fiscal year 2024, just 17 percent completed the mandated daytime shooting in the first quarter, and none did in the second quarter, according to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report.

The countersnipers who did not meet the requirements worked at 47 events during the 2024 campaign, including events involving Biden. Those were a wake in Dallas, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2024; campaign receptions in New York City on Feb. 7, 2024; and a speech in Manchester, New Hampshire, on March 11, 2024.

Officials who assign countersnipers to events do not always check to make sure they meet qualifications, according to interviews the inspector general’s team conducted. Some said they do check, but still might assign countersnipers who have failed to recertify.

Countersnipers who did not meet the requirements, meanwhile, told the team that they thought nighttime training could serve as a substitute for daytime training.

“It is unclear why the counter snipers believed the substitution was allowed,” the report stated.

“The counter snipers also stated that the firing range was not always available when they needed it and that conflicts with schedules, inclement weather, and a high operational tempo prevented them from going to the firing range and requalifying.”

The inspector general recommended that the Secret Service develop and implement a process that ensures countersnipers meet requirements.

The Secret Service told the team that there is already a process in place and that it has updated the rules to clarify that countersnipers must qualify each quarter in either day or night shooting.

“Secret Service did not address the deficiency we found, namely, counter snipers who did not meet their weapon requalification and were assigned to protective operations,” the inspector general’s office said. It marked the matter open and unresolved.

Staffing Issues

The investigation also showed that the Secret Service’s Counter Sniper Team was not adequately staffed. It was said to have staffing 73 percent “below the level necessary to meet mission requirements.”

The lack of adequate staffing led to countersnipers working 247,887 hours of overtime from 2020 to 2024.

The Secret Service also had to utilize snipers from other Department of Homeland Security divisions during the 2024 campaign and for President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The Secret Service has been hampered by a self-imposed requirement that it only hire from the Secret Service’s Uniformed Division, the watchdog said. And it only accepts officers who have worked for the division for at least two years.

The Secret Service cut that time from two years to 18 months, officials said.

The Secret Service has also boosted recruitment incentives and retention bonuses in recent months.

The agency said it is also developing a new model for staffing that will look at potentially recruiting snipers from law enforcement agencies and military services. That analysis is expected to be completed in August 2026.