For example, last fall a man masquerading as a member of Congress made it past the agency and walked into a secure backstage area are spoke with President Obama without being properly screened. Five days later a woman walked backstage at another event where Obama was a guest.
The report determined that overall the agency is still deeply troubled and is in the midst of a “staffing crisis,” having less agents than it did in 2014, when it was suggested that they hire 280 more staff.
The report also blasted the agency for “systemic mismanagement,” citing it as an example of reasons for the staffing crisis, which the report states is the biggest threat to security.
The report also warned of overworked staff and low morale within the ranks.
“The high attrition rate means that the personnel who remain are significantly overworked, and morale is at an all-time low,” the report says. The report also warns that the agency’s new hiring system “overburdens USSS with low quality applicants.”
The investigation found that Obama and whoever becomes the president elect will be facing great danger if this problem is not swiftly addressed.
“The situation is getting worse not better,” Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the Oversight Committee, told the Washington Post. “The president is in jeopardy, and he better personally get involved in fixing this.”
The report also asserted that the agency “cannot repair itself without first restoring the trust of its employees and increasing personnel dramatically. Whether from missteps at the executive level or at the field office supervisor level, it is clear many of the rank-and-file have lost confidence in USSS’s current leadership.”
