
A U.S. Secret Service counter sniper team is shown on the roof of the West Wing of the White House as President Donald Trump tours the roof on Aug. 5, 2025. Win McNamee / Getty Images
Secret Service is 73% short of the snipers it requires
Increasing needs have exacerbated "chronic understaffing," IG says.
The Secret Service has 73% fewer counter snipers on staff than it operationally requires, according to a new internal report, which found the shortfalls are leaving the nation’s most senior leaders vulnerable to assassination.
The number of events the Secret Service identified as requiring snipers jumped by 150% from 2020 to 2024, the Homeland Security Department inspector general said, but the number of snipers on staff climbed by only 5% over the same period. The agency has relied on snipers from other DHS components and 60,000 hours of overtime per year to fill the gaps, but the IG said Secret Service does not have a plan to correct the problem on a more permanent basis.
The watchdog conducted the investigation as part of a series of probes currently underway in response to the Secret Service’s failures as part of the attempted assassination of President Trump while he was running for office last year.
Understaffing for counter snipers within Secret Service is a chronic issue, the IG found, noting the problem has only worsened since 2022 when that workforce was 30% to 54% below operational needs. The agency updated its staffing model this year and has tweaked some of its hiring processes, but that has done little to resolve the situation.
The issue, in part, stems from growing demands on the agency, which served 344 protectees in fiscal 2024 and provided security at more than 5,000 events. Still, the IG said, Secret Service has no effective hiring plans to meet its needs. The agency has typically only recruited internally for snipers, but in 2024 allowed for new candidates to instead apply directly to the roles. Those individuals still had to serve in the agency for 18 months before becoming snipers, however, and the new process yielded only five candidates.
The total number of Secret Service snipers and the number the agency requires was redacted in the IG’s report.
Agency officials told the auditors that it was unrealistic to seek to add the number of snipers the agency requires given the onerous recruiting and onboarding process, though it is planning to add staff in fiscal 2026.
The counter sniper team “will need to quickly hire and train substantially more counter snipers to meet growing operational demands and be prepared for the 2028 presidential election cycle and beyond,” the IG 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.”
The watchdog also noted that 11% of counter snipers who staffed events in 2024 did so without attending requalification sessions, which requires the employees to retest to affirm their skills.
Secret Service agreed to boost its oversight of requalification compliance, as well as to develop a hiring plan to enable the agency to fill its needs. It will reassess whether the 18-month service period is a necessary prerequisite for joining the counter sniper team and explore recruiting from ex-military and other law enforcement agencies.
The agency noted that after the assassination attempt on Trump last year, it strengthened its hiring efforts and has added recruitment and retention bonuses.
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